Star Trek Frontier URE
by 117Jorn
Summary: Jaden Takeo had only recently become a cadet, expecting his advancements in Starfleet to be moderate. However when his ship is attacked, and after discovering the survival of a starfleet legend, Jaden sees the quickest starfleet promotion in history, as he and his new comrades prepare to take on Borg, Klingons, Romulans, Dominion, Iconians, and many many more threats.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: None of us own Star Trek. None of us own Star Trek Online, though we all have Accounts there, and Takeshi Yamato and Ron the True Fan have Lifetime Subscriptions. We only own our OCs and OC-Specific Plotlines. Anything else you may recognize is the property of its respective owner.

**Chapter 1: Graduation Day**

* * *

**_2409 AD – San Francisco, Earth - Starfleet Academy_**

* * *

'_I've had enough of this place's bullshit to last me a lifetime._'

This was the thoughts of one Cadet Jaden Takeo as he walked out of one of the many buildings of Starfleet Academy, wearing a standard red-trimmed Starfleet Cadet uniform. He was about 20-21 years old with short spiked black hair and crimson red eyes. As much as Jaden liked being in Starfleet - upholding the family tradition - he was starting to see what his great grandfather was almost always bitching about how their standards had _greatly _deteriorated since his time back in the 23rd Century.

At first he thought he was just being the 'crotchety old man' some called him, but he soon found out it was not too far from the truth as a lot of people in Starfleet… barely knew anything. It always felt too easy for Jaden, he actually had to go to his own family to help him train and study just so he could feel _something _of a challenge. He didn't want to graduate Starfleet with a bunch of amatuer marks, he wanted to actually feel like he _accomplished _something, like it wasn't just some stupid cakewalk.

Of course, today was the day where he could hopefully prove that it was all worth it. He saw someone waving their hands, calling out his name. Jaden recognized her as one of his fellow cadets - Elisa Flores, a young woman about his age with short auburn colored hair and brown eyes. "Finally!" she said. "I was beginning to think you forgot what today was!"

Jaden sighed but smiled a bit. "How could I forget, you've reminded me every blinking moment of every blinking day for the past blinking month!" he said. "So, did you get your assignment yet?"

Elisa smirked a bit "Of course, I was first in line!" she said, before she paused for a moment. "Oh, before I forget, I think Razkii is just up ahead, I think he wants to thank you for helping him cram for the astrometrics finals."

"Right, thanks," Jaden said, nodding. "See ya in space, Elisa." Elisa said goodbye as she left, before Jaden headed down the walkway, where he soon encountered a Saurian male, who glanced at him and smiled.

"There you are!" Cadet Razkii said, "I wanted to thank you for helping me with the Finals… and for all the other times you've helped me."

"Hey man, we're friends aren't we?" Jaden asked with a small smirk, "Of course I'd help ya out."

"Yeah, glad we could be friends to begin with." Razkii said, "I've always admired you a bit, how you seem to just… throw yourself into studying and everything."

"Don't have much of a choice, remember?" Jordan said. "My whole family is filled with Captains and Admirals of Starfleet, heck my great grandpa served onboard not just the _Enterprise, _but _also _onboard the USS _Reliant, Exeter, _and _Ptolemaeus _with Captain Pinkerton. It's a reputation that kinda sets your future for ya."

"Yeah, man it would've been awesome to know _the _Captain Pinkerton..." Razkii said "Some of our Klingon classmates still tell ghost stories about him, how he'll come back one day… it'd sure as hell make sure the Klingons stay away from Federation Territory if he did, that's for sure… so do you know what ship you'll get assigned too?"

"Haven't gotten my assignment yet..." Jaden said with a sigh. "I'm just hoping they don't assign me to some archaic ship like those NX Replica's… just anything better than a _Miranda _would be nice - no offense to the class, but it's not like a Connie."

"Connie?" Razkii asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jaden chuckled a bit. "Oh yeah, I never told you," he said. "It's what my great grandpa calls the _Constitution-_class for short. It's something that sticks after a while."

"That makes a lot of sense," Razkii said. "Though we really don't know much about that guy: all of his academy records are sealed for some reason-"

"_Cadet Takeo, please report to the duty officer outbuilding. Captain Taggart wants to see you._"

Jaden sighed. "Well, duty calls," he said. "See ya later Razkii."

"Sure thing," Razkii said, "Oh, and once you get back, try to find T'Vrell, I think she wanted to talk to you 'bout something."

"I will, thanks." Jordan said nodding before he left and headed towards the duty officer outbuilding.

Jaden made sure to stick to the path: hologram or not, NO ONE FUCKED WITH BOOTHBY. Even when it was a simulation created by the Undine, if it was Starfleet Academy, you stuck to the paths or faced the arate groundskeeper. Jaden entered the building, coming face to face with an older woman wearing the 2373-era uniform with black hair and heterochromatic eyes. "You must be Cadet Takeo." She said, "I've heard about you."

"Yes Ma'am," he said with a short salute.

"We're not a military, Cadet, no need to salute," the woman said.

"Sorry Ma'am, it's a family thing," Jaden said, looking a bit sheepish, "The Takeo family has always kinda stuck with most military traditions since the 21st Century. It's… something that tends to stick."

The woman smirked a bit, "My grand-uncle would like you." She said before she sighed, "If he were still around. I'm Ayame Virgillia Pinkerton, Captain of the _Damascus_."

Jaden blinked at that "Wait… Any relation to THE Captain Pinkerton?"

"He's my grand-uncle." Ayame said, "My pop used to call him the Fleet Killer. At least until...359."

Jaden winced a bit, knowing damn good and well what she was talking about. "I see… my dad lost his parents at Wolf, too," he said. "Onboard the USS _Niagara_ and USS _Tolstoy_…"

"At least we don't have to deal with the Borg anymore." Ayame said, before nodding her head over towards the door. "Taggart's waiting in the back office. Don't keep the Denobulan waiting."

"Thank you Captain, Ma'am." He said, before he saluted again. "It was nice to meet you." Ayame smirked slightly as she returned the salute somewhat before Jaden approached the back office door.

"Come," A male voice spoke, as Jaden opened the door. Inside there was a single man, a Denobulan wearing a white/grey version of the Starfleet uniform.

"Ah, Cadet Takeo," he said, as he stood up. "I've been wanting to speak with you for some time. Your record is, shall we say, terrifying. Only five cadets have matched your records, and one of them is redacted from the records entirely! You, my boy, are destined for great things."

Jaden blinked in surprise at the praise, sure he admitted he was a bit better than most of his peers thanks to his family training him, but only five cadets matching his records? That wasn't something he expected. "Uh, T-thank you sir." He said.

"That being said, you still need to go through the phaser range course," Taggart said, "I know, I know: you shouldn't HAVE to, but it's part of your finals. And as soon as you're done, I will have your assignment for your training cruise."

"I understand sir, I'll be finished with it soon." Jaden said nodding before he saluted, "Thank you again, sir."

"Head to the holodeck for your drill...Number One." The Captain said, causing Jaden to do a double-take.

"E-Excuse me?" he asked, as Taggart smirked a bit.

"Well, no need to keep you in the dark I suppose." He said, "You are going to be assigned to my ship - NCC-31200 USS _Protector,_ a new line of Ship Starfleet has just commissioned… and I'll be making you my first officer once you finish your drill."

Taggart glanced to the side, where a model of the USS _Enterprise-D _was placed on display "Working onboard the _Enterprise _taught me to see good talent and skills in people… and I can see it in you." he said, "I'm looking forward to working with you, Jaden."

"I, Uhh… thank you sir!" Jaden said, as he smiled a bit "I won't let you down!"

"I know you won't," Taggart said, as he returned Jaden's salute before Jaden left the office.

* * *

The holodeck was a welcome addition to any starship, as crews no longer needed specialized rooms to work out, entertain themselves or simply relax. One room did it all. This also allowed people to train on one world while mastering them all. And this was where Jaden would be undergoing his final exam.

"I actually checked, and it looks like most of our class all got assigned to the USS _Protector,_" Elisa said, as they approached the room where Holodeck 2 resided. "I've actually seen some of the specs on it, it's not a half bad ship. It looks like it's going to be a Science vessel, or scout ship."

"Personally would've prefered a more… combat oriented ship, but we can't be picky, I suppose." Jaden said as they reached the locker room. "And considering our class size, it only makes sense to put most of us on a small scout ship - they require just a minimal crew after all."

"Yeah, though the _Protector _is a bit bigger than most scout ships," Elisa said, as each of them picked out Type-2 Phaser Pistols. "It's about the size of a Cruiser actually, could easily support a larger crew."

"As long as we can fly the damn thing, we'll be good," Jordan said with a smile. "Though I'm just glad I'm heading into space with people I know and trust, Elisa."

"Still, some of the older teachers are comparing you to some dead guy," Elisa said. "Sure, the Klingons are scared shitless of him-"

"Probably with good reason, cadet."

Elisa jumped at the voice of Captain Pinkerton, who was standing behind her. "HOW THE HELL?!"

"It's a gift," Ayame said, shrugging. "Just thought I'd give you a heads-up, Cadet: as soon as your training flight is complete, your ass is MINE."

"Really?" Jaden asked, blinking in surprise. "Not that I am complaining, ma'am… but, why me?"

"Kid, I see the makings of your grandfather in you," Ayame said. "My grand-uncle picked your grandfather as his XO for a reason. That reason is simple: he impressed him. You are impressing ME. Now, get in that range, kick enough ass that the holodeck screams in fear and makes the holograms run out of the place."

"Wouldn't that lead to them not existing?" Jaden asked, and Ayame smirked once more.

"Better that than facing you."

Jaden blinked, but chuckled a bit. "Alright, then… let's do this," he said as he walked into the Holodeck as the simulation began shortly after, as the holodeck took the form of the bridge of a Klingon bird-of-prey. The moment he passed through the door, he was up against several Klingon warriors who drew out their disruptors, but Jaden was faster as he fired two quickdraw shots, nailing the first two Klingons easily, knocking them on their ass.

He then ducked and rolled under another Klingon's attack, taking cover behind a console before rising up, firing at the third Klingon, taking him down easily. He heard screaming behind him, as Jaden turned around, and moved left to avoid being attacked by a Klingon wielding a Bat'leth. The Klingon growled as he swung the sword again, but Jaden jumped back, avoiding the strike.

The Klingon then charged at Jaden once more, however this time Jaden had his fists ready as he punched the Klingon in the face, dazing him for a moment. That moment was all Jaden needed as he grabbed the Bat'leth from the Klingon's hand, and yanked it out, kicking the Klingon to the ground before finishing him off with his own sword.

Then several more Klingon warriors began to spawn in, attacking Jaden both with Disruptors and more Bat'leths, however Jaden just gunned down the ones at a distance, while using his confiscated Bat'leth to deal with any that got too close. This continued for three whole minutes, until finally Jaden tossed his Bat'leth into the torso of another Klingon - penetrating him, and sticking his body against the interior of the bridge, limp.

The last Klingon however, didn't fight… instead he went running out of the holo chamber, where he quickly disappeared from existence, saying something about a windstorm.

All were speechless. Except Ayame: she was on the ground, laughing so hard they would think she'd gone insane. "Well… that was new." Elisa said, blinking.

"And a perfect score," Taggart said, looking at the PADD. "The only ones to ever get that in the combat exercises were in the days before the holodeck. And Captain Pinkerton over there."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

This was the sight Jaden was welcomed to, as he walked out of the holodeck, blinking as he saw Ayame rolling on the floor laughing her ass off. "So… how'd I do?"

"P-perfect score," Taggart said, shaking his head. "I knew you had talent… but _this _is ridiculous..."

"And _awesome!_" Elisa said, grinning. "Did you even _see _yourself? You just _annihilated _those Klingons! Sure they were just holograms, but still!"

"Well, I believe it's time to get going," Taggart said.

"Wait, what was the windstorm thing about?" Jaden asked. "He was screaming like no tomorrow about it."

"That was what the Klingons referred to Captain Ronald Pinkerton as," Ayame said as she got back onto her feet. "It's from an old Klingon legend. He became a mythological figure after he disappeared. Most of his records are still sealed to this day."

"Geez… I'd hate to see how _real _Klingons will react to this, then…" Elisa muttered.

"They'll run away pissing their pants, thinking you're his reincarnation," Ayame said. "Now, I have to get back to my ship. And you have a training cruise to complete."

"Yes ma'am," Jaden said nodding, "Looking forward to working with you after my cruise."

Ayame spun on her heel, walking out of the training area. "Is anyone else scared by her?" Elisa asked.

"She's one of the most lethal people to come out of the Academy," Taggart said. "I think there are few things in the universe NOT scared by her." He then sighed as he looked at Jaden. "Anyways, I believe this more than qualifies you, once you're ready head for the shuttle bay… Number One."

"Yes sir," Jaden said. "Looking forward to it." Taggart nodded before he left the shuttle bay.

"Well, first officer, eh?" Elisa asked with a small smirk, "Guess I should start calling you 'sir' now, eh?"

Jaden groaned. "Oh please, don't start that..." he muttered.

"I'll see you on the Protector." Taggart left the two alone, with Jaden wondering what path his career would take after this.

* * *

**_Class-2 shuttlecraft en route to USS _****Protector**

* * *

The Class-2 shuttle, commonly assigned to the_ Intrepid_-class, was a rare sight away from their motherships. "Look at that! The USS _Vesta_, first of her class!"

"Yeah, she looks nice…" Jaden said, as the _Vesta _left the Starbase heading out into space. "Doesn't hold a candle to the _Odyssey-_class, from what I've heard, though."

"True," Elisa said, as she looked out the window. "And there's our ship." The ship in question was in a dock beside a Miranda-class frigate. THAT was a nightmare in and of itself. They just. Kept. EXPLODING. '_Never boarding a Miranda willingly. Ever._'

Once they moved away from the _Miranda,_ they got a clear view at the vessel that would be their new home for the foreseeable future. It was a bit different from standard Federation designs, instead of having a large saucer section, most of the ship was centered around a large oval-like hull area, attached to either side were a set of curved-inward engine nacelles, a very different design compared to normal federation engines which are generally more straight.

"USS _Protector,_ one of only two of her class so far," Elisa said. "Crew space for 600, but can operate with a minimal of just 150. I've heard there was a lot of debate as to what the ship's actual classification was going to be… from Scout ship, to explorer, science vessel, even a Cruiser… I've heard they've settled on calling her a Scout Cruiser I believe."

"Anything is better than a _Miranda_," Jaden said with a sigh as the shuttle approached the hangar bay of the _Protector._

Once the shuttle touched down, the two exited the shuttlecraft, joining the rest of the cadets. "This thing's barely out of the NX-stage," Elisa said. "No wonder it's being used as a cadet trainer."

"At least we're actually using a new ship, and not something that _should _be in mothball," Jaden retorted as they approached a woman in a golden Federation uniform.

"Name and position?" The woman asked.

"Cadet Takeo, acting first officer." Jaden said, as she glanced through her PADD.

"Ah, I have your name and record here, sir," she said. "Welcome aboard the _Protector._ The Captain is waiting for you on the bridge."

"Thank you, I'll be there ASAP," Jaden said, glancing at Elisa. "See ya later, Elisa."

Jaden headed towards the turbolift, however he was stopped when he heard a voice speak up. "Jaden." He glanced back, and saw one of the Cadets approach him - a Vulcan female with long wavy shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes wearing a science officer uniform.

"Oh, T'Vrell!" Jaden said, "I forgot Razkii told me you wanted to see me!"

"It is all right," T'Vrell said, maintaining her stoic face as usual. "I… just wanted to thank you for convincing me to retake my finals in Linguistics. You… realized I wasn't at my best that day, even though I was willing to accept my current results… my score increased by twelve point eight percent on my second attempt. Now I am qualified to act as both a science officer, and a communications officer."

Jaden smiled and nodded. "You just needed a bit of motivation, T'Vrell," he said. "You know the old Earth saying - if at first you don't succeed, try try again. I'm glad we'll be working together here."

"As am I, Jaden," she said as she raised her hand in the vulcan salute. "Live long and prosper, Jaden." Jaden returned the salute, before entering the turbolift. "Bridge," he said, as the door closed and he was sent to the bridge.

The bridge, like the rest of the ship, was not atypical Starfleet, but it was perfect. "Ah, Number One. Take your station: I was just about to give the order to move out."

"Captain, message from the _Damascus_." T'Vrell said, "She's requesting permission to escort us during our cruise."

"Give her my permission - It'll be nice to have some escort for now," Taggart said. "Number One, could you give the order to disable the tractor beams and close the shuttle bay doors?"

"Aye sir," Jaden said, as he took his seat next to the Captain, using the command consol to disable the tractor beams. "Flores, close the shuttle bay door, T'Vrell, get clearance from traffic control for the _Protector _to head on out of the gantry."

BGM: clear all moorings from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

"Earth Traffic Control has cleared us for departure, sir." T'Vrell said.

"Shuttle Bay doors are now closed, sir." Elisa reported.

"Very good, Number One." Taggart said, "Potter, take us out - one quarter impulse."

"Uh, Captain?" Jaden said. "I'm pretty sure Starfleet regulations say thrusters-only while in the vicinity of spacedock?"

Taggart smirked a bit. "Just making sure you're listening, number one," he said. "Potter - take us out, maximum thrusters."

The prototype starship left the dock, with the massive _Galaxy_-Class _Damascus_ following the Protector. "Protector, _this is_ Damascus: _we'll keep you covered in case the Klingons try to pull what they did with Utopia Planitia. That ship's a prototype._"

"Understood, Captain. Don't worry, I'll keep your prized catch safe," Taggart said. "Let's start with something easy - Helm, set course for Vulcan."

"Course laid in sir," Anna Potter said, as the _Protector _jumped into warp, with the _Damascus _following shortly after.

Roughly half an hour passed, and so far it seemed to be an easy flight. "Sir, I'm picking up a transmission. It's a distress call from a freighter, the S.S _Break Even_. It's a Ferengi-operated ship, audio only."

"Put it through." Taggart said, "And remember rule of acquisition One-Eleven: Treat people in your debt like family-"

"Exploit them."

"Exactly. That way, they can't abuse our generosity. Put them through."

"_This is the S.S Break Even!_" A voice said on the comm, "_Our Warp core is failing and we are in need of assistance!_"

"Let them know we are on our way," Taggart said. "Potter, lay in a rendezvous course."

"Altering course sir, ETA three minutes." Anna said.

"Sir, sensors can't pick up anything in the area of the _Break Even,_" the man manning sensors stated.

"Communications are out in the area as well." T'Vrell said.

"Keep trying to hail them, T'Vrell," the Captain said, before glancing at Jaden. "What do you make of it, Number One?"

Jaden hummed in thought. "I am going under the assumption this isn't a planned event to test us?" he asked.

"Absolutely not! The _Protector _and _Damascus _are the closest ships to the _Break Even, _so it is our duty to assist them." Taggart said.

Once again, Jaden paused to think for a moment. "It's a bit odd they only contacted us audio-only," he said. "A failing warp core wouldn't affect communications… and my _Kobayashi Maru_ senses are tingling. I recommend going in with shields up at the very least. This could very easily be a trap."

"A wise precaution, Number One. All hands, stand to yellow alert. Any other recommendations?"

"Post security personnel in the transporter room," Jaden said. "Just in case."

"Good," Taggart said as he tapped his comm badge. "Chief Ingersoll, report to transporter bay with a security team and medical personnel, prepare to receive wounded… and prepare for any funny business."

"_You got it sir, heading down now,_" the reply came.

"Number one, head for the transporter room - I want you to oversee the rescue efforts from there," Taggart said, as Jaden nodded.

"Understood sir, I'll head there now," he said, as he saluted before heading towards the turbolift.

Once the doors closed, he headed on his way down as he hit his comm badge. "Transporter room, begin beaming over the crew."

"_Aye, sir. I'm having difficulty getting a lock… come on you piece of - AHA! Got i - uh-oh._"

"_This vessel is now property of the Sarris Dominion!_" a gravelly voice shouted out. "_Surrender and die!_"

"Red alert!" The trademark alarms began blaring throughout the ship. "Number one, get a rifle and join the defense! Get them off my ship! Damascus-"

"_We're sending security teams over now, Taggart! Takeo, don't get yourself killed!_"

* * *

Phaser fire greeted Jaden once he got down to deck 5, where he saw security personnel doing their jobs and kicking ass in the process. Of course it wasn't without their own casualties as several crewmen were already dead on the floor.

"Get the armory open!" One of the security personnel shouted as they fired from cover at the attacking aliens. Jaden headed for the console as he finally got a good look at whoever was attacking them - they looked like a reptilian-humanoid species, wearing what almost looked like organic body armor, and wielding large rifle weapons **(1)**.

'_Never seen these guys before,_' Jaden thought as he opened the armory, as he ran inside, soon joined by several personnel nearby as they grabbed the closest Type-3 Phaser Rifle they could find, and arming themselves. "Set Phasers to kill - these bastards ain't going easy on us, no need to treat them any differently." He told the two security officers.

"Yes, sir!" Phaser fire shot toward one of the hostiles, taking it down after a number of shots.

"Holy shit. If that's what it takes to kill them, what's it take to stun them?" one of the officers shouted.

"At least they _can _be killed!" Jaden shouted. "Move up! Head for the transporter room!"

The three men moved up through the corridor until another alien appeared before them, however they didn't need to worry about him before an explosion behind him caused a hull breach, sucking the alien out into space before a force field appeared around the breach, preventing Jaden and the others from being sucked out as well.

"Brand new ship, and she's already getting battle scars…" Jaden muttered as the reached the door to the transporter room. They opened the door to find the Security teams already fighting the aliens - said aliens having their back turned to them. The team used this to their advantage as they got behind the aliens, and unleashed a hail of Phaser fire, combined with the teams up front quickly bringing down their armor, and turning them into little more than ash.

"Rraak!" Jaden shouted as he crouched next to the wounded Caitian transporter chief. "You alright?"

"Could've been worse, but I'll live," the Caitian said, hissing a bit. "I've locked the transporter down so they can't come in from here, but there's still a lot more across the ship."

Jaden nodded before he looked at one of the medics. "Get him to sickbay, and take one of the security officers with you," he said. "We're gonna have a lot of wounded over there soon."

More phaser fire was heard from the other door, followed by one of the beings crashing through… with a chinese dao shoved through its' neck. "If you want something done right…" The form of Jaden's future CO (if she had a say in it) walked into the transporter room. "You've got to do it yourself." She took the sword out of the being's neck, then looked at Jaden. "Cadet. Thought I'd find you here. Got a present for you."

Jaden blinked but chuckled a bit. "Well, I've never said no to a present," he said.

She tossed him a sword with an Arabic-type hilt and grip, as well as a recurved and weighted tip. "That used to belong to my grand-uncle. It's called a kilij. It's made of duranium and tritanium, plus it's monomolecular so it'll hack through those sons of bitches in half with ease. Try not to break it: it's one of a kind."

"I think I like it," Jaden said with a small smirk as he strapped the holster of the kilij to his hip. "We're gonna need to help the Captain a bit if we're gonna hold these guys off. There must be quite a bit of enemies out there if they're giving us this much trouble. If I can get to the weapons bay, I can modify our weapons to have a bit more punch against these guys. I might also be able to do some modifications to the shields and structural integrity."

"I'll lead the way and make sure you get through," She pulled out a modified TR-116B, with a seemingly extended magazine and no scope. "30 rounds, full auto. Let's see who wins." She gestured him to follow, firing her rifle at anything not wearing a Starfleet uniform in the process. Thankfully, headshots still worked. "Set those phasers to maximum! No fucking mercy!"

"Already told 'em that," Jaden said as they followed the Captain through the _Protector's_ corridors, firing their Phasers with Ayame, gunning down any attackers as they headed to the weapons bay.

A pair of enemy troops were shot before Jaden drew the ultra sharp kilij and shoved it into the third one's head, surprised by the absurdly sharp weapon of mass cutting destruction. "I _really _like you know." He said with a small smirk before pulling it out of the alien's skull as he put it back in its holster. "Weapons is right behind this door… looks like they sealed it shut with a force field, and they're probably waiting for us on the other side."

"Oh, I can EASILY solve that." Ayame pulled open a panel, then began reconfiguring the isolinear controls.

"What are you doing?"

"Causing a plasma coolant leak." Jaden paled. Plasma coolant LIQUEFIED organic material ON CONTACT. "Oh, don't worry: I can get that shit back where it belongs."

Jaden then sighed. "Do it, it makes our life easier, anyways," he said.

"And leaking." Screaming was heard inside for a moment, including someone yelling something akin to 'Oh God MAKE IT STOP!'. "And suckin' back in. There. room's clear."

"…You are one sadistic bitch." one of the officers said.

"It's a gift."

"Alright, I got the door." Jaden said as he pressed a few commands, as the force field went down allowing them entrance. Inside there was no resistance… just several pools of goo where the would-be defenders would have been.

"I'll get the weapons modded up!" Jaden said, paying no attention to the goo as he ran towards the first terminal to type in the commands. "This should give the Captain some more firepower up there…"

"_JADEN!_" Elisa yelled over the comms. "_THEY JUST GOT ONTO THE BRIDGE! THE CAPTAIN'S BEEN TAKEN!_"

Ayame looked at the cadet. "Consider yourself promoted. You have the conn. You're in command."

"OH SHIT OH SHIT! HANG ON!" Jaden shouted, the moment he finished he headed right for the Turbolift running as fast as he could. "My ass, bridge, NOW!" he shouted to the computer.

The lift took him to the bridge as quickly as it could, but the lift was too slow. By the time the lift arrived, Elisa was a mess. "Jaden. The Captain…"

"Damnit…" Jaden muttered, quickly pulling out the medical case he took from one of the medics. "Hang on Elisa, you're gonna be alright…" he used every ounce of the medical training he learned to patch up Elisa's wounds as best he could - it wasn't perfect, he was by no means a Medic, but she was gonna live at least.

The moment he was finished with her, Jaden approached the only other member of the bridge crew who was still alive, but barely - T'Vrell. She looked as if she had been stabbed by a knife-like weapon in her shoulder, and for the first time Jaden had known her, a flurry of emotions were on her face - most notably a pained expression as she looked up at Jaden.

"J-Jaden… I… s-sorr…" she tried to say, but Jaden just focused on her wound.

"Just… don't talk, T'Vrell," he said. "It's not that bad… it looks like whoever stabbed you missed anything vital, just hang in there… you're not dying on me, alright?"

The Vulcan simply nodded. "The captain… was taken by their leader." She said, "Brushed us asi-" The console beeped. "We're being hailed."

T'Vrell moved her arm to respond, but Jaden stoped her. "You, rest. I'll take care of it." He said, before he hit the console. A few moments later the front screen of the vessel displayed the bridge of an alien vessel, possessing almost organic interior with a dark green and light green lighting. And standing before him was a figure with dark green skin and armor, a very reptilian yet still humanoid alien with what looked like a spiked eye patch over the left half of his face.

"_I am General Rath'h'ar Sarris, leader of the Sarris Dominion and bringer of your doom!_" The Alien spoke, "_You have killed my soldiers, but you have not won. Our ship shall not be detected by your sensors! Surrender now, and I may yet spare your lives!_"

Jaden's eyes narrowed as he let out a growl. "You attack me and my friends, attack _my _ship, and you expect us to surrender?" He snapped back, "Go fuck yourself you damned fucking lizard!"

"_Gah, perhaps your captain will change your mind!_" Rath'h'ar declared, as he reached for something off the side of the screen before pulling into view Captain Taggard. "_Order your crew to surrender now, Captain, or I will blow them out of the stars!_" The general smirked. "_Do you want to see these _children _die? It's your choice._"

The wounded and battered Captain looked at the alien, before sighing. "_Number one… you are the Captain now._" He said, "_As… as my last order…_" he glared at the general for a moment, before he hurriedly spoke "_You are to lock onto my combadge and burn this son of a bitch!_"

"_Fool!_" The General shouted as he drew out his knife and stabbed the Captain in the gut, causing Jaden's eyes to widen as he fell to the ground.

"_Make… me proud… Number… one…_" was the last words the Captain spoke, before he fell limp on the screen.

Jaden's fists clenched and his teeth bared. "Eat Torpedoes you son of a bitch!" He shouted as he locked onto the Captain's comm badge, and fired a trio of Photon Torpedoes which homed in on it.

The torpedoes pulled what was affectionately called the Khitomer Maneuver. They circled. They homed. They impacted with one HELL of a boom. And at that moment, Jaden channeled his inner Hikaru Sulu. "Target that explosion and FIRE!"

"Music to my ears!" The _Protector _fired its phasers and torpedoes at the sight of the explosion, as did the _Damascus, _the larger ship inflicting the most damage, as it tore the General's ship into pieces. For a brief moment they attempted to regain cloak, but it did not last long enough as one last torpedo from the _Protector _resulted in a catastrophic explosion from the ship, reducing it into molten slag.

"And once again, Starfleet demonstrates its' ability to make shit explode," Elisa said.

"Sir, a ship managed to escape from that… thing before we 'demonstrated our ability to make shit explode'," T'Vrell said, having sat up and gotten back to her console. However, she blinked when she saw Jaden and Elisa looking at her with wide eyes.

"…did you just make a JOKE, T'Vrell?" Elisa asked.

"No," she said a bit quickly before looking at her console. "Also, we're receiving a hail from the USS _Renown_."

"They're certainly late… on screen." Jaden said.

_"Captain Taggart, this is...You're not Captain Taggart. What happened, Cadet?_"

'_The Vulcan ability to state the obvious still works._' Jaden thought to himself before he spoke. "Captain… Taggart was killed by… unknown aliens," he said. "The Captain's… last orders put me in command of the _Protector._ We've taken a lot of casualties and heavy damage."

"_I see. Cadet, we will need your assistance: we have lost contact with the _Khitomer _in the Pollux system. Repair whatever you can en route. I have no doubt we will see combat once more._"

Jaden sighed. "We'll do what we can," he said. "We need to do some repairs to our plasma injectors before we can enter warp however."

"_Not anymore,_" acting chief engineer Zarva spoke on the comm. "_The _Damascus _just beamed over some of their spare replacements, and I've already installed them. We can enter warp whenever you want sir._"

Jaden shrugged. "Scratch that, we can follow you now." he said.

"_Captain Pinkerton is known for being overly prepared. Follow us, Captain._ Renown_ out._" The screen replaced Va'lok's image with that of the _Regent_-class _Renown_.

"So, out of the frying pan, into the fire?" Elisa asked with a small smirk.

"That's Starfleet in a nutshell," Jaden said with a sigh, as he looked at the Captain's chair. He hesitated for a moment, before he sighed once more and sat down. "Engage." The _Protector_ jumped to warp, followed by the _Damascus_ and the _Renown_.

* * *

While the three ships made their way to the Pollux system, repairs on the _Protector _were beginning to move along more steadily now. Thanks to a few engineers sent over from the _Damascus, _the ship was returning back to normal functions, as the sickbay was also relieved to have some more help treating the many wounded they got.

Jaden was now in the private captain's quarters - which once belonged to Captain Taggart, now apparently his. He sat behind the desk, as he looked at the spare Captain's badge he had been provided with… for Jaden, none of this felt right. This was suppose to be Taggart's ship, not his.

"_Captain, we have an incoming message from the_ Damascus." T'Vrell's voice spoke on the comm. "_It's Captain Pinkerton. should I put it through?_"

Jaden sighed as he activated the monitor. "Go ahead." He said. However A buzz was heard a second later.

"Cadet."

Jaden jumped at the sound of Ayame's voice from behind him. "But - how-"

"Holocommunicator." Ayame said, shrugging. "Figured you'd want to talk face to face instead of via a monitor. How're you doing, kid?"

After Jaden settled down a bit, he sighed. "Well… I'll be honest… this isn't how I wanted to become captain of a Starship…" he said. "This is Taggart's ship… not mine. Nothing feels right about this… and I doubt I'll ever get use to dead crewmen… fuck, I knew most of the people on this list… now I gotta write letters to their families…"

"I didn't exactly ask for command, either." Ayame said. "Back in '63, I was just another XO, and I was content in my post. Then my captain decided to put me up for command, and not just any command. I was put on The List."

Jaden rose an eyebrow. "The List?" he asked, and Ayame chuckled a bit.

"Right, you don't know," she said. "The List is just a name for a list of captains fit to command a certain starship. I think you can guess from the registry." She smirked. "NCC-1701."

Jaden blinked a bit. "Wait, _you _were on the list to become captain for the _Enterprise?_" he asked in surprise.

"Yup. Picard won out due to his greater experience, but I was VERY close." Ayame said, "So they put me in command of the first Block 2 _Galaxy_ after the _Odyssey_ left the yard." The first six _Galaxy_-Class ships, including the prototype, the _Enterprise_, and the long-destroyed _Yamato_ and _Odyssey_, were referred to as 'Block 1 _Galaxies_' as they were the first of their breed. Block 2s were highly improved_ Galaxy_-Class starships, adding extra phaser arrays and a more efficient power distribution system. The most famous example was the first USS _Venture_, which was the second ship of the subclass. "And because my ability to make shit explode was pretty close to my uncle's, I was sent to the Romulan Neutral Zone. Then Wolf 359 happened."

"A lot of things changed after Wolf 359…" Jaden said with a sigh.

"I blamed Picard for years," Ayame said. "But after the Dominion War, and barely surviving T'Uerell, I finally realized it wasn't his fault. The people who died under your command might have been your responsibility, but it's not your fault they died."

"Maybe… but this whole thing still doesn't feel right…" Jaden said shaking his head. "But… all I can really do now is… keep moving forward."

"Then I'll see you on the bridge." Ayame's hologram disappeared, followed by the comm beeping.

"_Captain, we've arrived at the Pollux system are we're dropping out of warp. You're needed on the bridge._"

"I'm on my way," Jaden said, standing up as he headed for the bridge.

* * *

The _Renown, Protector _and _Damascus _left warp as they arrived finally at the Pollux system, and it didn't take them too long before they found the _Khitomer_ in the space above the planet.

"This doesn't exactly look normal. There's NOTHING here that could've damaged the Khitomer, yet she looks like she's had the living shit beaten out of her!"

"Let's stay focused, shall we? Take us in and open a channel to the Khitomer." The tiny scout cruiser (compared to the 690 meter long _Renown_ and monstrously bulky_ Damascus_) moved toward the third biggest ship in the area. And once more, Jaden felt small.

"Why couldn't we have gotten a bigger ship?" Elisa asked with a slight sigh.

"After what just happened a few hours ago? I'm glad we still have _this _ship," Jaden said.

"Sir, I'm picking something up a few thousand kilometers from the _Khitomer_." T'Vrell said from the science station. "It's a subspace distortion."

"Yellow alert and take us in." Jaden said, "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

**BGM: Borg Engaged - ST:TNG OST**

However, as the _Protector _moved forward, suddenly what looked like a rip in the middle of space appeared… and a split second later a very large cube-shaped object appeared from the rip.

"_We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships._" What sounded like multiple voices spoke at once. "_Your biological and cultural distinctiveness will be adapted to serve us - resistance is futile._"

"...She HAD to say we wouldn't be dealing with these assholes, didn't she?" Jaden shouted.

"At least it's only one-" T'Vrell began to say, before A MASSIVE fleet of probes, spheres, tactical cubes and even a fucking DIAMOND appeared out of the hidden conduit seconds later.

"You were saying?" Elisa asked, before the fleet jumped to warp, heading out of the system, leaving only a few spheres and a squadron of probes behind.

"Red Alert NOW!" Jaden shouted as Klaxon alarms began ringing throughout the ship. "Target the closest Borg ship and open fire! Cycle through Phaser settings so they can't adapt! And someone figure out where that damn fleet's going!"

The probes began to fire at the _Protector_, at which the shields began to do two things: one, they glowed bright as all hell, and two, weaken to the point where the Borg could start beaming over. "_Hey, Borg! Remember me?!_" The probes began to suffer from exploding issues when the_ Damascus_ began torpedo spamming them, drawing their attention toward the_ Galaxy_-Class ship. "_Get out of here, Takeo! they're heading for Vega, and we still need to get the _Khitomer_ out of here!_"

"But-"

"GO!"

Jaden cursed, but he knew she was right - they needed to warn the Vega colony, and _now._ "Set course for Vega! Now!" he ordered. "Maximum Warp! T'Vrell, get a message out to Vega and Starfleet - We've engaged the Borg, and they are en-route to Vega!"

The ship jumped to warp, and MORE Borg ships came out of the conduit. "Well. BRING IT, MOTHERFUCKERS!"

* * *

**_Vega system_**

* * *

The Vega Colony was one of the Federation's earliest colonies, being only ninety light years away from Earth itself, with Vega IX being home to over 2.8 million inhabitants. As such, it was an adequately defended colony, currently bearing host to a small Federation fleet of twelve Federation starships, mostly escort and science vessels. Though there were a few privately owned vessels making pitstops, most notably being a _T'liss-_class Light Warbird, and a _K't'inga-_class Battlecruiser.

Within the Federation fleet, maintaining its patrol around the system was a _Sao Paulo-_class Tactical Escort, slowly moving through space. On its hull, the title, 'NCC-108597 USS _Raging Tempest_' was written for all to see.

On the Bridge of the ship, the ship's captain was seated not in the center chair as would be normal, but at the Helm Console - a side effect of having been a helmsman and left as the Senior Ranking Officer of another ship during the early days of the war.

Said captain was a human male, around 22 years of age - he'd turn 23 that July - with dark brown hair done in a buzz cut, a fairly bushy moustache, and amethyst eyes. He wore the standard 'Odyssey' Uniform that was becoming established as the primary uniform for Starfleet, as did the rest of his crew, though he'd gone with the Long Jacket Option - typically only used by Admirals, but some skilled and decorated Captains had earned the right to wear it - like he had. The only other variation, which was shared among all of the uniforms on his crew, was that they used golden rank insignia instead of silver, and used the 2370's-era Combadges as opposed to the ones that were more commonly issued with the uniform.

He sighed as he continued guiding the ship. "I know patrol duty's important, but this is rather dull," he remarked. "I'd much rather be at the front lines, helping keep the Klingon Empire from expanding any further."

"I know, Takeshi," said a redheaded, blue-eyed human female two years older than the captain seated at the secondary Tactical Station, her hair falling down to around her shoulders, Commander's Rank Insignia adorning her uniform. "And we'll get back there soon enough. But we _did_ draw the short straw when it came to patrol duty this month." She smiled. "Besides, this means we're a bit closer to Earth, so if we come off shift we can make a trip back home to see Larcei."

Takeshi Yamato nodded, smiling as he thought of his daughter, only two months old at the moment. Both he and the redhead, Linda Allster-Yamato, felt raising a child on a warship like the _Raging Tempest_ would be counterproductive, so they had, with permission, left her with Takeshi's younger sister Ryoko, who was serving as an aide in the Federation Council Building, as she prepared to run for a seat on the Council itself.

"Very true," he said. "Glad Ryoko-Imouto agreed to care for her for us. Still, might as well keep at it." He turned to the Sensors Station, manned by a brunette. "Anything unusual on the scanners, Kim?" he asked.

"Nothing, as usu - wait. There's a ship approaching at warp speed. It's the _Protector_."

"Taggart's ship?" Takeshi asked. "Wonder what they're doing out here - they were starting their training cruise a couple days ago."

"We'll find out soon enough," replied a Bajoran woman at Ops, with Ensign Rank Insignia. "They're hailing us."

"Put them through, Rina," Takeshi replied.

The front screen flashed on, however Takeshi was surprised to see it wasn't Taggart sitting on the bridge, but a young man. "_This is Acting Captain Jaden Takeo, of the USS _Protector _to the Vega Colony!_" he shouted. "_You have a FUCKLOAD of Borg ships heading your way! Get your fucking asses in gear!_"

Takeshi's eyes widened. "Oh, jeez…" he muttered. "Well, there goes the boredom… Rina, pass the message on to the colony - have them begin evacuation procedures immediately!" He faced forward once more. "Red Alert!"

Klaxon alarms started ringing across the ship, as did the alarms of every other ship in the system as they cancelled whatever it was they were doing before hand, and formed up around the nearby starbase. The few independent vessels among them, knowing well and good enough they didn't have the time to run from the Borg - threw their lot with the Federation Fleet.

**BGM: Red Alert from Star Trek First Contact**

The Borg fleet dropped out of warp, and the lead ships began their assault on the defense fleet. A trio of probes fired on one of the few cargo ships that couldn't escape the system, downing the shields and beginning boarding actions. Screams were the only thing heard from the boarded craft… then suddenly silence. But that was not the worst part. Pyramid-shaped craft began landing on the planet, using the larger ships to distract the defenders. Vega was doomed, and they didn't even know it.

"Isn't anyone going to shoot down these Landing craft?!" Jaden shouted, as the _Protector _opened fire on said landing craft, doing what it can to thin out their numbers while the rest of the fleet focused on the main Borg fleet.

"With all these ships, it's difficult enough to handle the capital ships, let alone the landing ships." T"Vrell said, before she looked at the sensors again, "Sir, I'm picking up additional borg lifesigns on the surface. Those things aren't landing craft… they're assimilators. They're assimilating the planet."

"What?!" Jaden shouted. "We're still taking the ones down up here! How have they gotten to the surface already?!"

"Too many."

"Can you be more specific?" Jaden asked.

"Sir, the Borg are using a nanovirus to assimilate everything down there," T'Vrell said. "It's slow, but it will doom everything down there unless we evacuate the colonists outside the landing zone."

Jaden closed his eyes, considering their options before speaking again. "We need to prepare an away team to help with the evacuation," he said. "We won't be able to save everyone, but we can save as many people as we can. "

"Transporter room is standing by." The _Protector_ entered transporter range, right before Jaden left the bridge, followed by the ship shaking. "What the hell was that?"

"One of the Borg ships just fired on us," T'Vrell said. "I'm going to remodulate the shields in order to let us beam you down, but we're going to have to break orbit after we send the team down there."

"Just make sure you'll be ready to pick us back up," Jaden said. "Getting assimilated is _not _on my to-do list."

"Captain… please be careful." T'Vrell said.

* * *

**_Vega colony surface_**

* * *

The trees were leafless, and showed signs of assimilation. The ground was baren, and it looked like the world was… dying. This was the sight Jaden and his away team beamed down to see as they arrived at the evacuation station. "Remember, these weapons need ammo, but they can't be adapted by the Borg," Jaden said, as he and his team were all equipped with TR-116B's.

"How the hell did they do this so quickly?"

"Remind me to show you what they did to the _Enterprise_-E back in '73. That took less than an hour, and they didn't have what they have here." Dead and dying plants lined the path, and they finally encountered their first drone near the outskirts of one of the smaller settlements. Consequently, it was the first drone seen out of a classroom in decades. It had grabbed an Andorian woman and disappeared in a shower of green light with its' victim.

Jaden's eyes narrowed. "Keep your heads on a swivel," he said. "There's bound to be more of these damn things nearby, don't let them surround us."

One of the landing craft, or assimilation craft really, was seen in the distance, symbolizing the death of the colony. "Move!" Screaming was heard in the settlement, forcing them to move faster. A number of drones were going after several civilians who were trying to open a gate and escape them. Thankfully though, the Borg did not notice them moving behind them.

"Take them down." Jaden said, before the group al opened fire, aiming for headshots as they easily mowed down the unsuspecting Borg Drones, whose bodies were enveloped in green light as they were transported back to the ship.

"Everyone here alright?" Jaden shouted as the team moved towards the civilians. "Anyone here hurt?"

"No, but the Governor is trapped in the settlement up ahead." one of the civilians said. "I thought the Borg were gone; that Starfleet wiped them out!"

"You know what they say about plagues: you can't wipe them out, it's the other way around. There's a lot of drones in-town. Hope you got a lot of tritanium bullets, Captain."

"Wouldn't be down here if we didn't," Jaden said, before he tapped his comm badge. "T'Vrell, we've got ten civilians here, in need of transport. Can you do it?"

"_Most of the borg fleet is focused on engaging the defense forces: I can lower the shields for a short time, but then I will have to raise them again to prevent another boarding action. And if the _Enterprise_-E has taught us anything, it is that it takes a great deal to force the Borg off a ship._" It took KILLING A QUEEN to get them off the ship; 'a great deal' was an understatement.

"Alright, make it quick then," Jaden said. "Make sure you have security teams armed with TR-116B's in case any borg _do _try to board the ship. Beam them out."

"_Understood sir, lowering shields… energizing._" A few moments later, the civilians vanished in short pillars of light. "_They're onboard sir, and shields are back up._"

"Good work - we're heading in deeper into the settlement, the governor is still trapped inside - we'll keep you posted." Jaden said.

They opened the sealed gate leading into the colony, seeing more people getting kidnapped by the Borg. It was too late to shoot the drones or save the colonists: they had already disappeared in green light. "DAMN IT!" A dozen drones marched toward one of the buildings, one occasionally falling to a phaser bolt to the chest.

"Move in!" Jaden shouted, as the team advanced forward, firing their rifles at the Borg Drones, their Tritanium bullets easily killing the Borg attackers. The Drones turned around to open fire, but Jaden picked this particular away team for a reason - they trained _relentlessly _for Anti-Borg combat in simulations for years during the academy, always knowing it was possible the Borg could someday come back. As such, they had a fairly good idea how to deal with the Borg - sticking to cover, remaining calm, conserve ammo, and only use Phasers as a last resort due to how easy it was for them to adapt to them.

"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot!"

"Kolez, don't be stupid. They're Starfleet." An older woman gestured a Saurian ensign to lower his weapon. "Thank you for saving us, Captain. But I think our problems aren't over yet."

"Oh?"

"The Borg are setting something up outside the settlement. I'm not sure what it is, but it's blocking our local transporters."

"An inhibitor," Jaden said. "That means we have to destroy it."

"There's a lot of Borg between here and there," she said. "And according to the tricorder readings, the air's starting to become toxic: whatever the Borg are using, it's even assimilating the air."

"Damnit…" Jaden muttered, "What are our options? We need to find a way to get everyone here off the planet and onto the _Protector_ before Vega _really _turns to shit."

"We've been working on a way to get around the interference field," she said. "We think a pattern enhancer will do the trick, with that we can transport the remaining citizens to your ship."

"The enhancers are inside. I'll go get them so we can get the hell off this planet," Kolez said as he ran into the building, before the sound of transporters was heard. The Borg were launching a final assault.

"Move it people!" Jaden shouted, as he armed his rifle once more. "We gotta hold them off long enough for them to set the enhancers up, so we can GTFO! Conserve your ammo, make your shots count, and don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes!"

The drones began their approach, then paused. "What are they doing?" one of the Away team members asked.

"Probably trying to figure out if they can survive engaging us." Jaden said with a small smirk.

The drones began to fall back, but they didn't get far as a phaser beam from above turned them into little more then vaporized matter.

"Damascus_ to _Protector_ away team: sorry we took so long, but the bastards brought in a tactical cube. If you need to get out of there, I can send down a couple of shuttles._"

Jaden sighed. "Jaden here, thanks for the support, _Damascus,_" he said. "We're about to use a Pattern Enhancer to beam as many civilians as possible from the settlement back to the _Protector;_ this shouldn't take too long… hopefully."

"_We'll unleash fifty different kinds of hell of them to keep the Borg away from your position. Now - son of a bitch; here comes tactical cube number two! We'll take on what we can! Pinkerton out!_"

Jaden turned around as they came back with the enhancers. "You better be ready ma'am, 'cause we don't have much more time left," he said.

"_We're remodulating shields now! Get them into position!_"

"We're moving, Damascus!" Jaden said, "Why is she ordering us around?"

"She's got the bigger guns, that's why! Starfleet Regulation-"

"That was rhetorical!" He shouted back, as what few civilians that hadn't been taken ran to the pattern enhancers, which had been set up.

"Here they come!" Jaden warned out. "Enhancers are active! Time we got the HELL out of here!"

The civilians began beaming up, beaming up in groups of 20 every 15 seconds, and the last one to leave was the governor. "Good luck with your mission, Captain," she said as she disappeared, as one of the officers looked at Jaden. "You know, she didn't even know you aren't a commissioned officer yet."

"Not exactly something that matters right now," Jaden said. "The _Damascus _and _Protector _will take up as many civilians as they can, once they do we beam back ourselves."

"That's… not going to be as easy as you think."

"What?"

"That Borg inhibitor's fully active. Even with the pattern enhancers-"

Jaden groaned. "You have GOT to be shitting me. Are you telling me we need to get over to that thing and blow it up?"

"Exticentally? Yeah, I kinda am."

"Alright, everyone form up and let's move out," Jaden said. "The sooner we take out the generator, the sooner we get get off this planet before it becomes Borg Central."

* * *

**_USS _****Damascus**

* * *

"And THIS is why I hate Borg. THEY DON'T KNOW WHEN TO DIE!" In over five decades of service (and one near-brush with death thanks to a certain Vulcan whore) there were few things Ayame Virgillia Pinkerton hated more than the Borg. "Where the hell are our reinforcements?!"

"The _Odyssey_ will be here in two minutes, ma'am!"

"Well, at least the Borg won't stand a chance in hell against THAT son of a bitch. Contact the _Raging Tempest_."

The image of the _Sao Paulo_'s Bridge - like the original _Defiant_'s, but with more modern LCARS Displays - appeared on the screen. "Raging Tempest_ here,_" Takeshi said. "_Any word on reinforcements?_"

"Well, I think the Borg will be forced to piss their pants in another minute or so." One of the defense ships took a major hit, causing a warp core breach in a matter of seconds, turning it into nothing but a cloud of fire. "Status on the _Protector_?"

"She's not going to be leaving drydock for a while: the Borg are focusing most of their attention on three ships: us, the _Tempest_ and the _Protector_."

"Guess they think we're going to be pulling the second unholy trinity if we survive this."

"_Captains…_" came Rina's voice from offscreen, "_…we're getting a transmission from outside the system - no text, just data. And I'm not quite sure what it is._" The screen then seemed to split - on top, the image remained on the Raging Tempest's Bridge; on the bottom, a diagram of the space around Vega appeared, with signals designating all the Starfleet, independent, and Borg ships… and what seemed to be a red wireframe cylinder, which looked like it was coring through the Borg formation.

"_I think I know what that is,_" Takeshi replied. "_That's nav data - basically telling us to steer clear of that cylinder - I think someone's going to warp in and fire some kind of Lance weapon._"

"We can't GET clear, Captain. We're scattered to hell, just like the Borg! The only thing we CAN do is let the _Odyssey_ do what it can when it arrives!"

"_Shouldn't be too hard, though,_" Takeshi replied. "_There's a lot more Borg out there than us - and that cylinder seems like it's coring through most of them without coming close to a majority of our ships - one or two might be close enough to receive some residuals, but it looks like it won't hit anything but Borg._"

At that moment, the _Odyssey_ warped in - alongside it was an _Aventine_-Class Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Explorer. Though it looked like there was a non-standard hatch open at the bow of the _Aventine_'s saucer, with a cylindrical barrel of some kind sticking out - from which a massive beam of energy erupted, red at its core and blue-white around the edges, blasting through the Borg formation. When the beam faded, several Spheres and Probes had been outright vaporized, while a few Cubes in the beam's path had pieces missing, and began exploding - the beam had even cored through a Tactical Cube.

"Well, that's a one-trick pony." It worked the first time, but the Borg now knew it existed, and they were likely already putting a good percentage of their resources to making it a non-factor. That was the thing about the Borg no one seemed to remember. As long as it was connected to the Collective, even in death, a drone's knowledge would be passed on to the greater part of the Hive Mind. And there was a planet FULL of Borg below them, so, yeah, it was useless. "Status?"

"The _Protector_'s beamed up the last unassimilated people on the surface."

"That answers that. Time to GTFO. Helm, set a course to Earth, maximum warp!"

The fleet began pulling out, using the impromptu channel created by the _Aventine_-Class ship's Lance Weapon to avoid the incoming Borg as they sped through to the outskirts of the system.

* * *

**_Earth Spacedock - Admiral Quinn's office_**

* * *

The Trill commander-in-chief of Starfleet looked at the three commanding officers before him. One was a cadet, and his ability to keep together impressed Quinn. "You did well, Mr. Takeo," the Admiral said. "Your report was very clear on the circumstances resulting in your acting command of the _Protector_."

"Thank you sir, I simply did what I was trained to do at Starfleet Academy." Jaden said. "And what my family had taught me over the years had helped as well. "

"Unfortunately, the _Protector_'s going to be spending a LOT of time in spacedock: the Borg trashed her, not to mention her previous actions against these… new aliens." The Admiral said.

Jaden mentally groaned, fully expecting to be thrown back into the Academy for this.

"I can overlook that, seeing as you aren't to blame, Lieutenant Commander."

Jaden blinked. "Wait, what?" he asked, not sure if he heard that correctly.

"I'm promoting you," the Admiral said with a small smirk. "Is that so hard to understand? I'm also giving you and your crew command of one of the block 5 refit _Constitution_-Class ships currently in the yard: the NCC-20045 USS _Yorktown_. Her captain recently retired, and her crew was reassigned. And… I will be giving you your first assignment."

Jaden was actually in a loss for words - he was honestly expecting he'd just remain as a cadet. But now… now he was being given command of a _starship,_ and not just any starship - but a _Connie_ \- one of his favorite Federation starships.

"Now, your assignment." The Admiral said with a small chuckle "I think you might like this. Your grandfather would. I'm sending you to the border between us, the Klingons, and the former Romulan Star Empires. you're going to put an end to a mystery, Commander."

Jaden finally found words as he spoke. "Uhh, a mystery, sir?" he asked.

"In 2293, we lost contact with one of our ships on patrol," the Admiral said. "Your grandfather - and Captain Yamato's - objected and demanded to search, but Command vetoed them." He pulled up a file with a diagram of a modified _Excelsior_-Class starship. It appeared to be a stepping stone from the prototype to the _Enterprise-B_. The file's title was 'USS _Ptolemaeus_ NCC-2185'.

Jaden - as did the other Captain's in the room - blinked as the recognized the ship. "Wait, isn't that Captain _Ronald Pinkerton's_ ship?" Jaden asked.

"It is," the Admiral said. "We lost contact just before Praxus did its' thing."

"Explode and cause a subspace shockwave that ruined Captain Sulu's day?" Ayame asked.

"Exactly," Quinn said. "We have no idea what happened to him and his ship. We want you to go to the borderland. Find out what happened."

"Sir… with all due respect, it's been over a century since the _Ptolemaeus _disappeared," Jaden said. "What are we hoping to find over a hundred years _after _she went MIA?"

"A sign," Quinn said. "The Starfleet Technical Intelligence Group has been working on intercepted transmissions from the Klingons for months. They think he's alive. And they think they know where he is."

Jaden was, of course, very skeptical about this - after all, just because a bunch of Klingons thought the man they called Windstorm _might _still be alive doesn't make it true. The more reasonable possibility would be that some independent Klingons have been spreading ghost stories about the Captain's exploits, make him out as some sort of Boogyman to always look out for, and motivate other Klingons to fight the Federation for a chance to fight - and defeat - the Windstorm, and bring eternal honor to the house of the one who kills him.

However, he knew that this would be something his Grandfather would have done either way, and probably _would _be doing if he hadn't retired. Plus, this would be a good mission for he and his crew to get accustomed to their new ship. "Understood, sir," he said with a salute. "Once my crew gets situated on the _Yorktown,_ we can leave immediately."

"I would ask captain Pinkerton to join you, but the front lines are calling for her again. The Klingons don't like her very much."

"B'vat can kiss my ass, sir. I'll head out as soon as I'm resupplied."

The eldest captain left the office, and Quinn turned his gaze on Takeshi. "You're going with him. Your sister practically demanded that you be assigned to this mission. And the President approved. As soon as your crew is ready, you're going to the Triangulum sector. Dismissed."

* * *

**_Later that day - USS _****Yorktown**

* * *

As promised, the _Constitution-_class starship USS _Yorktown _was brought to the spacedock, as the former crew of the _Protector _moved their belongings over to their new starship. Jaden would be the first to admit he personally prefered the _Connie _over the _Protector._ As good of a ship it was, it clearly wasn't a vessel meant for prolonged combat, unlike a _Constitution_. So long as he was never placed in command of a _Miranda,_ he'd be happy. And so far, it looked like the crew agreed.

"Now _this _is what I'm talking about!" Elisa said, now sitting at the navigation position as she spun her chair around. "A _Constitution-_class Cruiser! These things are _legends_ in starfleet! Same class as the _Enterprise-A_! Perfect ship for the class of 2409!"

Jaden chuckled a bit. "Couldn't agree with ya more, Elisa," he said. "Something just feels _right _about this ship."

"I think it should be said that this is the only class to have two ships named _Enterprise_," T'Vrell said. "They could have assigned the name to an _Excelsior_. Instead, they renamed a ship _Enterprise_."

"Which one?"

"USS _Yorktown_, NCC-1717."

Jaden smirked. "So, what do we know about this place?"

"Only that it's the only sector to border Klingon, Romulan and Federation space," Elisa said. "We haven't bothered to patrol there since the _Ptolemaeus_ disappeared: the Klingons and Romulans think the place is cursed."

"Cursed by the ghost of the Windstorm," Jaden said with a small chuckle. "He must've left _quite _an impression on both the Romulans and Klingons if they'd avoid a whole sector just on the _chance _he could be here."

"You really think we'll find anything, Jaden - err, I mean Commander?" Elisa asked, and Jaden chuckled a bit.

"Just Jaden, Elisa, please," he said, before he sighed. "To be honest, I doubt it… but it _is _worth investigating, at least… it'll help get some closure for my Grandpa at the very least, and I owe him that much. Well, if everyone is ready - Anne, max thrusters out of the starbase, take us out and meet with _Damascus _and the _Raging Tempest_."

The _Constitution_-Class heavy cruiser began moving out, following the same route the _Enterprise-A_ did when she left for her rendezvous with Kronos One. "Message from the _Damascus_: heading for Neutral Zone to head off Klingon fleet." T'Vrell said, "Sorry, kid, but duty calls."

"How long until we get there?"

"Three weeks at maximum warp, but a hop through the transwarp gate'll get us within 50 light years." Anne reported.

"Inform the _Raging Tempest _we'll take the transwarp gate," Jaden said. "The sooner we get there, the better."

"Message sent." The _Yorktown_ moved toward the transwarp gate, followed by the _Sao Paulo_-Class escort. The gate flashed for a moment before forming a transwarp conduit, and both ships jumped into it.

* * *

**_Triangulum sector - 12 hours later_**

* * *

"How the hell did we miss THIS?!"

T'vrell simply gave a very human shrug. "It was not in the database." She said.

"You're telling me Starfleet Cartography missed a BLACK HOLE being here?!"

One of the few star systems in the sector was supposed to have five planets, with a healthy G-type star. Instead, there was a black hole.

"I am simply telling you what the charts and intel say sir," T'Vrell said. "I am as in the dark as you are."

Jaden sighed, shaking his head. "Run a few scans T'Vrell, see what we can find out 'bout this thing," he said, "Look for anything out of the ordinary… aside from the fact there is a black hole where there shouldn't. "

"Sensors will be hampered by the gravitational distortions, and…" T'vrell raised an eyebrow. "Fascinating. I am detecting several tritanium signatures near the edge of the accretion disk."

"Push it up on the screen." The screen zoomed in on one of the objects. It was blurry and dark, but it WAS spherical. "A Borg sphere. They were involved in blowing this system up."

"Sir, the sphere is on the verge of destruction," T'Vrell said. "Time dilation has prevented it from exploding immediately, but it is in process of a warp core breach."

Jaden whistled. Borg ships were NOT easy to blow up in any century. "I am also detecting a photon torpedo in flight, heading toward the sphere. A Class-III Mk V, to be exact."

"Mk-V?" Jaden asked, "That's a 23rd Century Torpedo… can you trace its point of origin?"

"Yes." T'Vrell reported, "Another tritanium signature. If the sensor readings are correct, it is an _Excelsior_-class starship."

"That's too easy," Jaden said.

"It would, if the _Ptolemaeus_ was the only _Excelsior_-class ship lost in this general area," T'Vrell said. "Five ships, not including the _Ptolemaeus_, disappeared here in the 20 years before we ceased patrols here."

"So… Ronald Pinkerton may very well still be alive on that ship… with his crew…" Jaden said, a look of disbelief on his face. "Grampa's not gonna believe this… any ideas how we can get the _Ptolemaeus _out of there?"

"The ship is slowly moving out of the black hole's gravity well; in a few months, it will clear the dilation effect," T'Vrell said. "I recommend using a tractor beam to speed up the effect."

"Make it so." Jaden said nodding. "Move us to minimal tractor beam range and pull her out of there - let's try to avoid being caught in that dilation effect ourselves. Inform the _Raging Tempest _what we are doing, and tell them to stay clear just in case. Once you do that, prepare a hailing frequency to the _Ptolemaeus_. "

The Constitution-Class ship moved into maximum effective range, which was barely outside the dilation effect of the black hole. "Tractor beam engaging." T'Vrell informed, "As soon as they are within 6000 kilometers, engage impulse engines to begin towing the ship out."

"Got it, tractor beam is on... We have the ship in tow." Anne said, as the bluish tractor beam field surrounded the Ptolemaeus. "Impulse engines are on - heading out at full impulse."

The Yorktown dragged the ship out of the gravity field, and the time dilation faded, showing off the ship's hull markings and registry. "Captain, according to sensors, most of the Ptolemaeus' scanners are offline." T'Vrell informed.

"Meaning?" Jaden asked, before the Yorktown shook from an impact.

"Meaning they don't know we're Starfleet!"

"Oh son of a…" Jaden muttered, "Open hailing frequencies! All channels!" T'Vrell quickly did so. "This is Lieutenant Commander Jaden Takeo of the Starfleet vessel USS Yorktown, contacting USS Ptolemaeus! We are not hostile! I repeat: we are friendly!"

"No response," T'Vrell said as she looked at the sensors. "And I know why: his communications system is shot. The Borg did a number on him before they got trapped by the black hole."

"So, we're up against who could probably be the most lethal son of a bitch in the universe and he's half-blind?!" Jaden shouted.

"We DO have a technological advantage," T'Vrell said.

"This guy was going toe-to-toe with Brog and FLEETS, that doesn't comfort me much!" Jaden shouted before the ship shook again. "Their sensors are out, but do they have visuals? If we can get close enough we can show them our hull number and name! At the very least someone should see it through a window!"

"How close?"

"Point Blank! Anne, can you do it?"

The ship helmsman looked a bit hesitant, but nodded determined. "Yes sir," she said, as she flew the Yorktown closer.

The ship rocked again, this time from a photon torpedo hitting the shields. "Shields are at 64%, but they're starting to fail!" Elisa shouted. "If that guy keeps pounding the crap out of us-"

"Worry about that later!" Jaden shouted. The Yorktown turned towards the older starship before inverting, showing off her name and registry imprinted on the dorsal half of the saucer section. A few moments later, the rattling across the ship stopped.

"I think he saw that," Elisa said with a relieved sigh. "The _Ptolemaeus_ is coming to a full stop, 120 kilometers off our port stern."

Jaden let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Well… that was close," he said. "Try to find a way to speak with them - hopefully now they're trying too fix their comm's."

On the screen, one of the ship's navigational lights began flashing rapidly. "Morse Code." Jaden said, recognizing the technique. "Tie in the computer: let's see what he's saying."

"Done," T'Vrell said. "He says: 'Yorktown, this is Ptolemaeus Actual; sorry for the shooting spree, but I just ran into a bunch of assholes that turned that star into a black hole. Stardate'."

"Tell him…" Jaden began, before he sighed. They were about to drop quite a bombshell on them. "Tell him it's the year 2409 AD. Stardate 86024."

"Sending reply." The navigational lamp on top of the bridge flashed, sending its' message to the Excelsior-Class ship. A minute later, they got a reply. "'Lowering shields; transporter room 1'. I believe we are being sent an invitation."

Jaden sighed as he stood up. "Well let's go meet our time travelers," he said. "T'Vrell, your with me. Elisa, you have the deck."

* * *

"Is there anything we need to know about captain Pinkerton, sir?" T'Vrell asked as they entered the transporter room.

"Why ask me?"

"Your family is deeply linked to the _Ptolemaeus _and her crew," she said. "It was only logical to ask."

Jaden shook his head. "Grampa respected the man, but never said why." Both entered the transporter room, stepping onto the pad. "We're locked onto their transporter, sir."

"Alrighty then - energize," Jaden said, as the Caitian transporter chief activated the transporter, as the two were soon enveloped by light.

They reappeared in the transporter room on board the _Ptolemaeus_, facing a woman who looked much like a younger version of Ayame, only with blonde hair.

"You must be Captain Takeo," she said. "I'm Lieutenant Riza Pinkerton." The only helmsman to outfly just about everyone in the fleet, flying a ship twenty times bulkier than what they were piloting. "Welcome aboard the _Ptolemaeus_."

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Jaden said, nodding. "Though I am not a Captain, just Lieutenant Commander. And this is my XO, T'Vrell."

"I'll take you to the bridge." Riza said. "And watch your step: damage control parties are all over the place. Sensors, communications, and just about everything that isn't involved with life support, the defense systems, or propulsion is heavily damaged. Then again, we DID take on about 70 starships at once."

Jaden and T'Vrell both blinked at that "70… You mean you fought 70 Borg ships ON YOUR OWN!?" Jaden asked incredulously.

"So THAT'S what they're called," Risa said. "We've been wondering what to call them for almost nine years now. My brother just likes to call them 'cockbiting assholes that destroyed my first ship'." Riza walked out of the transporter room, leaving the two stunned officers behind.

"70 ships?" Jaden asked. "23rd Century or not, taking on 70 Borg ships is-"

"Highly unlikely," T'Vrell said, nodding. "However, when you consider his general reputation and abilities…"

" I think I know why the Klingons are scared of him now," Jaden muttered.

Riza's head popped back into the room. "Are you coming or not?" she asked.

"Sorry, coming." Jaden said as he and T'Vrell followed Riza through the _Ptolemaeus_ interior - just as Riza had informed, the halls were a mess with shorted out panels and parts everywhere, and damage crews doing their best to fix the damage.

"The result of three hours of combat," Riza muttered.

"THREE HOURS?!" Jaden exclaimed. "Most ships don't take this much damage in MONTHS!"

"Most ships don't run into a fleet of 70 ships with blood on their minds," Riza retorted. All three walked into a turbolift. "Bridge."

The ride up too the bridge was silent for the most part, and quick as a few moments later the doors opened revealing the interior of the bridge. Looking exactly like and other 23rd century era Excelsior-class starship bridge.

"I just got the ODN line reconnected, boss!" A woman said. "We should have short range sensors back in a minute or two."

"I'm more worried about warp drive, Sonja," the man sitting in the command chair said. "Tell the damage control parties to focus on the main deflector and the warp nacelles: I want to be able to get to the closest starbase within a few days." A woman wearing a black engineering vest and an ochre turtleneck entered the opposite turbolift as a man replaced the panel at the science station before kicking it, activating the console.

"Captain Pinkerton, sir?" Jaden spoke, catching the man's attention as Jaden saluted. "Lieutenant Commander Jaden Takeo, USS _Yorktown_. It's an honor to meet you sir."

"Lieutenant Commander?" The man asked with a raised eyebrow. "What, did Starfleet's standards lower while I was gone, or did you impress Command to such a degree they couldn't promote you fast enough?"

"_All hands, this is Commander Henderson: we're restarting the main EPS network. Standby for the inevitable exploding consoles._"

"Well, when the captain of your training cruise gets abducted and killed by a bunch of unknown aliens, and then get thrown right back into the gauntlet against an armada of invading Borg… it causes things to happen," Jaden said with a sigh. "All of that in the span of… one week."

"I faced off against a Klingon armada in a _Miranda_-Class starship, blew part of it up and a few days later, took my first command back from the Romulans." Ron said with a bit of nostalgia in his voice. "Interesting times."

He turned his gaze to T'Vrell. "Well, you almost had me fooled there for a minute," he said. "I was almost convinced you were an ordinary Vulcan."

Jaden rose an eyebrow at that, glancing at T'Vrell. "Sir?" he asked.

"The almost-unnoticed eyeroll, the slight frown, and the narrowing of the eyes gave you away," Ron said. "You're not suppressing your emotions: you're just masking them."

T'Vrell glanced at Jaden for a moment. "I… don't know what you are talking about, Captain." She said, though anyone who paid attention could see she was getting a bit nervous.

"Nothing to be ashamed of: Commander T'pol couldn't suppress her emotions after the Delphic Expanse Incident." Ron said. "I see the reason for wanting to hide it, Ensign, but take it from someone who can tell the difference: hiding it from someone who knows Spock is not possible."

T'Vrell glanced between Ron and Jaden for a few moments… before she let out a loud and long sigh. "Goddamnit…" she muttered. "You have no fucking idea how hard it is to pull off the 'Zero Emotion' thing. It gets _really _stressful, believe me."

Jaden blinked in surprise at the sudden… explosion of emotions from his friend, whom he always viewed as being rather stotic. "Uhhh… wha?" he asked.

"Uhh… yeah Jaden… I'm not from any… well, _official _Vulcan colony that you probably know," T'Vrell said, scratching the back of her head. "I doubt you've ever heard of the _Vahklas_?"

"Vulcans who don't repress their emotions," Ron commented. "A VERY distant offshoot of the same principle that caused the formation of the Romulan Star Empire, only less… violent. Captain Archer from the NX-01 _Enterprise _encountered them before."

"Yes, well… since then, after years of traveling through space, the crew of the _Vahklas _managed to find a planet which could easily support Vulcan life," T'Vrell said. "We've grown a bit since then… mostly staying out of any Vulcan, Romulan, or Federation affairs, though we do welcome any Vulcans and Romulans who wish to leave their ways and join us… after making sure none of them are Tal Shiar, of course."

"Wait… then why did you join the Federation?" Jaden asked, still a bit confused.

"I just… wanted to see what Starfleet was like in person," T'Vrell said. "Though… I had to make it look as if I were just another Vulcan because… honestly, we don't know how either the Romulan or Vulcan governments would respond if they discovered our existence. I just thought that Vulcans would just look down on me for being so… well, free with my emotions."

"The Federation wouldn't've done shit." Ron said, "We kinda take the 'not getting involved unless we've been asked' thing very seriously. It's a policy that works."

"_All hands, all hands, stand by: we're reactivating short range comms and sensors. There's going to be a hell of a buzz._"

"I'd get you earplugs, but there aren't any handy," Ron said, before an annoying buzz was heard throughout the ship, making everyone, especially the Vulcans, wince. "So, why the hell are you here? It's been a century: I thought we'd be presumed dead by now."

"Well, you were… but Admiral Quinn said the Klingons and Romulans have been spreading rumors about you still being alive," Jaden said. "It was worth investigating… plus I wanted to help get some closure for my great grandpa."

"Well, I wondered why you had Ishmael's last name-" Ron began to say, before Jaden's commbadge beeped.

"Yorktown_ to Commander Takeo: we're picking up a contact on sensors, moving in at high warp._"

Jaden tapped the badge. "Do we have an ID?" he asked. "Romulan, Klingon, or Borg?"

"_The warp signature is Klingon, sir._" Elisa said, "_And you're not going to like it._"

"Well?"

"_It's a _Vo'quv_-Class dreadnought carrier._"

Ron raised an eyebrow. "So, still at war with the Klingons. at least some things never change."

Jaden groaned. "Oh, fuck me with a scimitar…" he muttered. "Captain, we need to get the FUCK out of here - now. A _Vo'quv _is _not _to be fucked with - especially with just a 23rd Century era _Excelsior,_ a Refit _Connie, _and a _Sao Paulo._ "

"Well, if you say so."

"Wait, what?"

"Problem is, Captain, my ship's warp drive is barely operating," Ron said. "My chief engineer, who was the lovely lady on the intercomm if you were curious, told me we can't make Warp 1.8. So…"

"We can tow you out in warp!" Jaden said. "Elisa, we need to pull the _Ptolemaeus _out of here in warp NOW. Warn Captain Yamato, so we can get the _hell _out of here!"

Ron chuckled. "Captain, under Starfleet General Order 104, I'm going to have to ask you to give me command of your ship. I'll take care of your big, bad carrier. Riza?" He was insane. He was planning on taking on a _Vo'quv_ carrier with ONE ship?! Then again, he WAS the fleet killer, so it might just work.

Jaden groaned. "Alright, fine," he said. "Elisa, prepare to beam me, T'Vrell, Captain Pinkerton, and Lieutenant Pinkerton over to _Yorktown._"

"Yes, sir, but… why?"

"The crazy son of a bitch wants to take on that carrier. And he kinda relieved me of duty."

* * *

**_USS _****Yorktown**

* * *

The _Yorktown_ bridge staff were not expecting three red-jacketed officers from the _Ptolemaeus_ to walk on with their commander and science officer. "Ms. Flores, you're relieved. Riza, take the helm; Sonja, engineering controls!"

"Excuse me, " Riza said as she gently shoved Anne out from the helm controls. "Looks like they haven't changed the controls too much, O'nii-san."

"Hard about," Ron ordered. "Let's see what this new _Connie_ can do."

From the engineering post, Sonja scoffed. "Makes the_ Exeter_ look like a relic." She said.

"Klingon dreadnought entering visual range." T'Vrell reported, taking her usual station. "We can still run."

"Not happening," Ron said. "On screen, and open a channel to the _Raging Tempest_."

"Channel open, sir," T'Vrell said.

Takeshi's image appeared on the screen. "Raging Tempest_ here,_" he said. "_I assume since we're not running that you have a plan, Jaden?_" He then noticed who was on the Bridge as well. "_Ah, Captain Pinkerton, I presume?_"

"That I would be. Captain, I want you to get the _Ptolemaeus_ out of here as fast as you can under tow."

"Didn't I say we could do that?!" Jaden shouted.

"We would be limited to Warp 6," Ron said. "That thing can do Warp 9, at least. Common sense, Commander: they'll catch up easily. I'll delay them as best I can until you're clear."

"_Understood,_" Takeshi replied. "_Will be a good chance to use our Tractor Beam, to be honest - we don't get much use out of that thing under normal circumstances._" He then smiled. "_Also, it's good to meet you in person - heard a lot of stories about you from Grandpa Shirou when I was younger._"

"Hope he told you what I can do. _Yorktown_ out." The screen cut out, and Ron chuckled. "Red Alert! All hands, stand to battle stations! Riza, take us in, Attack Pattern Pinkerton Lambda."

"Hope there's a few old friends on that carrier," Riza said, as the _Yorktown _moved quickly, causing several crewmen to lose their balance at Riza's maneuvers.

The _Yorktown_ half-looped, then shot toward the carrier at full impulse, using 'half-pipe' zig-zagging to throw off their aim before looping over the carrier's dorsal section. "Fire phasers, standby to vent warp plasma and arm aft torpedo launcher," Ron said. "Here's hoping they remember this."

"They probably will," Riza said, as the _Yorktown _fired a hail of phasers upon the _Vo'quv_, impacting against its shields before the vessel flew forward as plasma was vented out of the vessel.

"Ok, genius, now what?"

"Aft torpedo, fire at a location 6 kilometers from the carrier, then fire phasers at it and the plasma." The torpedo left the aft tube, and as soon as it was 6000 meters from the carrier's starboard side, the aft phaser array fired at the torpedo, creating a photonic shockwave that nudged it into the plasma field. "FIRE!" The second beam hit the plasma, igniting and burning through the duranium composites in the carrier's hull.

"WHOA SHIT!" Jaden shouted. "_That's _new!"

"You haven't seen anything yet. Sonja, resonance pulse. Target his port nacelle. Tactical, stand by on photon torpedoes. dispersal pattern Sierra." The _Yorktown'_s deflector fired off a blue-red beam of energy, destabilizing the shields before Elisa fired off a full volley of torpedoes, all of which hit the carrier's port warp nacelle and blew it off. "Commander, the ship is yours."

Jaden's jaw was agape - as was the rest of the class of 2409. They had just watched what _should _have been the ultimate mismatch between an old _Connie,_ and an advanced Klingon carrier/dreadnought… and yet they managed to come out not just on top, but by barely taking any damage from the enemy ship themselves.

'_Who the hell IS this guy?!_' Jaden thought.

"Commander?" Ron sighed. "Look, I KNOW it's impressive and all, but this is what I do. Riza, set course for wherever the hell the _Tempest_ ran off to with my ship. Sonja, take a good long look at the specs for this thing: I want to know what they've done over the years."

"On it, boss."

Ron walked up to Jaden before flicking him in the forehead. "You have the conn."

Jaden finally snapped out of his trance. "R-right," he said. "Lets get out of here before any _more _Klingons show up."

The _Yorktown_ jumped to warp, heading for the transwarp conduit that would take them back to Earth.

* * *

**_Earth Spacedock_**

* * *

"He's ALIVE?"

"_Alive… and still apparently capable of kicking as much ass as he could in the 23rd,_" Jaden said on the comm. "_He disabled a Klingon Dreadnought with the _Yorktown."

"A dreadnought?"

"Vo'quv_-Class._"

"…Commander, it is official." The Admiral muttered. "Captain Pinkerton scares me. I think I know why STIG decided to ask you to pick him up."

"_Sir?_"

"They knew he was alive the whole time," he said, shaking his head. "They had to know."

"_Sir are you telling me they've LET Ron and his crew stay in that damn dilation field for over a hundred years?_" Jaden asked incredulously. "_Why would they do that?_"

"I believe in the 21st century, they referred to it as 'sealed badass in a can'," While humorous, it was SO true. "They didn't pull him out for the Dominion War," he mused. "They didn't even use him for what happened at Narendra III. Why NOW?"

"_It must be the Borg, sir,_" Jaden said. "_It's too well timed - we lose Vega colony to the first major Borg offensive we've seen in a long time. Considering the size of the fleet they sent, we can assume the Borg have successfully regained a large portion of their former strength. And it's not just them, since we still have Klingons, Romulans, and Dominion aplenty to deal with as well. If what my grandpa says about Ron is true - and so far it seems _very _true - we need a fleet killer like Ron now more than ever._"

Quinn sighed. "Commander, you are now the fastest person Starfleet has promoted."

"_Admiral?_"

"I'm promoting you to Captain: no doubt Captain Pinkerton will demand it." The Admiral said. "And I'm going to run a few tactical simulations. Quinn out." He ended the call, and pulled up the classified files. "Computer, run a simulation of Captain Pinkerton and USS Ptolemaeus. Location and time: Wolf 359, January 1st, 2367."

"Analysis in process. Please stand by."

* * *

**_USS _****Yorktown**

* * *

Jaden walked back onto the bridge with a shocked look on his face, which did _not _go unoticed by his friends. "Jaden?" Elisa asked. "What's wro-" she then looked and saw that he was now wearing a Captain's badge. "Wait… did you just-"

"Admiral Quinn just promoted me… _again_," Jaden said, still not believing it as he sat down in the Captain's chair. "I just went from _cadet _to _captain _in the timespan of a _week…_ just… just what the hell, man?"

"You deserve it, sir," T'Vrell said, smiling a bit - now feeling a bit more free to express her emotions around her friends. "We probably wouldn't be here now if it weren't for you."

"So, now what?" Elisa asked.

"Well, as soon as I was promoted officially, it said something about Level-11 clearance." Jaden said, "If I remember correctly-"

"Commodore level intelligence." All eyes turned to a new arrival: the man that nearly blew up a Vo'quv. "Clearly, they expect you and me to work together for a long time. Of course, there's shit that I have higher access to: Omega level."

"That's, what, Fleet Admiral clearance?" Elisa asked.

"GRAND Admiral."

"…shit…" She muttered. "The hell kind of stuff were you involved with?"

"If he told us, he'd probably have to shoot us," Jaden retorted, half serious and half sarcastic.

"Partly true." Ron said, "Directive Zero, subsection 1, paragraph 1B kinda states one of two things. One, your career ends and you work for SI. Two… you end up in a penal colony for the rest of your days."

"Then don't tell us _anything_," Elisa said, waving her hands. "I don't wanna work with SI, and I _sure _as hell don't wanna spend the rest of my life in prison!"

"Too late for your CO." Ron said. "I have to brief him on some freaky shit. Like Lantaru. Note to self: find Vulcan whore. Make Vulcan whore PAY."

"…okay…" Jaden said. "Anyways, until we get new orders, I believe its best we head back to Earth… there's someone there who I think would like to see you again."

"Then it's time to go home." Ron said, "It's going to take a while to get back to Earth."

"Not if we use a transwarp conduit." Jaden said with a smirk, causing Ron to blink.

"Wait, what?" He asked, as the _Yorktown_ arrived at the gate, where the _Ptolemaeus_ and _Raging Tempest_ were waiting.

"_Yorktown _to _Raging Tempest,_ ready to head home?" Jaden asked.

"_Definitely,_" Takeshi replied.

"Take us through, Anne." Jaden informed, as the helmesman nodded as the _Yorktown _continued towards the gate with the _Tempest _and _Ptolemaeus._

The gate's interior flashed on before the ships flew into it, sending them on their way to earth.

* * *

**117Jorn: And there you have it everyone! The Ultimate Rewrite of Star Trek: Frontier! **

**Ron the True Fan: Blame me for this one. We were pulling a Farmer when we should've pulled a Fishbed. (Gets confused looks) We needed to start fresh! Christ, no one studies aircraft design history anymore...**

**Takeshi Yamato: And this time, we've used the revamped STO Fed Tutorial for Jaden's Origin story! With a few tweaks, of course.**

**117Jorn: And for those of you who've seen the movie _Galaxy Quest,_ yes the _Protector _is the same as it is from the movie. So until next time…**

**Everyone: Ja Ne!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: None of us own Star Trek. None of us own Star Trek Online, though we all have Accounts there, and Takeshi Yamato and Ron the True Fan have Lifetime Subscriptions. We only own our OCs and OC-Specific Plotlines. Anything else you may recognize is the property of its respective owner.

**Chapter 2: The Windstorm**

* * *

**_2409 AD – Kyoto, Japan_**

* * *

"_Captain's Log - Stardate 86026.7: We've returned to Earth Spacedock, and the _Ptolemaeus _is getting her refit back up to modern starfleet standards as any repairs needed on the _Yorktown _are performed as well. In the meantime, I'm heading down to earth with Captain Pinkerton so that he can reunite with an… old friend._"

* * *

Earth had been through a lot in the past century. Layton's uprising, the Battle of Sector 001, the Breen attack. But the capital of the Federation had recovered as Ron had noticed from the cockpit of the Type-6 shuttle that was currently flying over his hometown. "I see that Kyoto's done well over the years." Ron said. "Anyone know if Itsukushima Shrine is still holding those plays?"

"They do," Jaden said as the shuttle approached the landing area. "My family goes there every once in a while, though with the family pretty much being all over the place dealing with Klingons, Dominion, Romulans… we haven't been able to go much more."

"Well, once the Klingons know I'm back, the status quo from my era'll come back with a vengeance," Ron said.

"You seem sure of that."

"For 22 years, I was the main reason no one tried to invade," Ron said. "They saw the _Exeter_ or _Ptolemaeus_, they either stood their ground and died, or ran screaming. More often than not, it was the latter." The shuttle came down near the Takeo family compound, and Ron cricked his neck. "So, how's Ishmael?"

"He's been doing good… for a man well over a hundred years old," Jaden said. "After you vanished, he got his own command of a few starships… this is actually his second retirement actually - he came out of retirement in 2380 to deal with that… Vulcan Whore you keep mentioning - and made sure while doing it, he was commanding the _Exeter._"

"Wait, _Exeter?_" Ron asked, and Jaden chuckled a bit.

"_Ambassador-_class, NCC-26531," he said. "He said he wanted to 'cram the name _Exeter _down that bitch's throat so deep she can't even try to beg for mercy'."

"Well, at least I got retroactive revenge." The elder captain stood up, smoothing out his red jacket. "At least my timing's not going to be as bad as it is with Shirou." Jaden did not want to know.

"Anyways, he's in here," Jaden said, as they arrived at a room of the compound. "I'm not sure if Starfleet has informed him about… well, you being here yet, though."

"Surprise." Ron knocked on the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, keep your pants on!" An elderly voice responded, before the door opened, and once the man within saw Ron and adopted the most surprised look on his face that would ever come to pass, Ron smirked. "Surprise, motherfucker!"

The old man's mouth was agape, as he looked at the man before him. "N-no… y-you… can't…" he muttered, taking a step back in shock. "R-Ron? Is… is that you?"

"No, I'm the Spanish inquisition. Of course it's me!" Ron said, with a short roll of his eyes. "Alright, something only we would know… My last orders to you when we were on the _Exeter_ at Lantaru were, 'Get the fuck to the shuttlebay, or by God-'"

"'The Klingons will wonder how they can hear screaming in the vacuum'," Ishmael muttered, his eyes widening further before he smirked. "Goddamnit, it really is you!" He grabbed Ron on the shoulder, chuckling. "Fuck, it's good to see you! Where the hell have you been? You haven't aged a damn day!"

"That's what happens when you get stuck in the time dilation field of a black hole," Ron said. "You don't age as fast as you want to. In fact, you don't DO anything. I was frozen for over a century. Kinda surprised you didn't go on the warpath to recover my ass."

Ishmael sighed as he lead them inside, as he took a seat. "I would've, Ron… goddamnit I would've…" he said. "But fucking _you know who _stopped me at every turn. And with you gone, someone had to keep the Klingons and Romulans in line - and that someone became me and Shirou." Ishmael let out a deep sigh. "Goddamnit… you were always there… if we'd just taken a damn science vessel and just _looked _we would've found ya… and Riza… damnit… "

"Remind me to introduce Sanjuichi to a couple of tanks of warp plasma coolant," Ron said, as Jaden's commbadge beeped.

"_Earth Spacedock to captain Takeo._"

Jaden hit his badge, giving Ron and Ishmael some time alone to chat. "Takeo here, what is it?" He asked.

"_Could you please return to ESD? Admiral Quinn wants to speak with you._"

Jaden glanced back at the pair. "Gramps, I gotta head back to ESD," he said. "I'll be back later."

"Don't take too long, Jaden," Ishmael said. "I want to know how your training flight went."

"It ended with him taking command of a _Connie_, and me getting promoted to Captain in a week - that's how it ended."

* * *

**_ESD_**

* * *

Jorel Quinn was speechless. "20 simulations. Zero losses." They had put the sealed intel on Ron and the specs for the Ptolemaeus into a simulation that was, for lack of a better term, David against Goliath: Wolf 359. When HE was added, the cube took damage faster than the one at Typhon, and was even destroyed while the rest of the fleet had suffered NO LOSSES.

"Admiral, Captain Takeo is here, as you requested."

"Send him in."

The Door slid open as Jaden walked inside the Admiral's office, saluting. "Admiral sir, you wanted to see me?" He asked.

"Captain, I wanted you to know that I put every sealed bit of tactical information we have on Captain Pinkerton through a computer simulation. I put him through Wolf 359."

Jaden winced. Wolf 329 resulted in the deaths of 11000 Starfleet personnel and 39 ships wrecked. "He not only turned the tide, he destroyed the cube," the Admiral said. "While we took no losses."

"Wait… _no _losses?!" Jaden asked with wide eyes. "But… but that damn cube destroyed thirty nine ships! And with Picard assimilated, the Borg knew what our technology and tactics then were like!"

"I know. But Pinkerton does not think like a normal Starfleet officer," the admiral said. "His file was redacted from Starfleet Academy records for one reason: he beat the Kobayashi Maru."

"So did Kirk!"

"Kirk cheated; Pinkerton didn't. They put him through that exercise five times; they locked him in the brig after the first time until they got the picture: he was just that good at commanding a ship in battle. The sixth time, they had to add 60 D6 cruisers just to make him fail and he STILL destroyed most of them before he threw in the towel!"

"Jezzus…" Jaden muttered. "Fuck, we've seen what he could do in a Connie against a modern Klingon Dreadnought, imagine what he could do with the refit _Ptolemaeus_? Or an _Odyssey_?"

"I don't want to think about it. Speaking of which, the heads of Tactical and Intelligence want him acclimated to the 25th Century."

"I thought they hate each other."

"I know. That in and of itself shows that they want him in fighting shape," the Admiral said. "To that degree, we've assigned you to a task force including the _Raging Tempest_, the _Yorktown_ and the _Ptolemaeus_. Captain Miller will be joining you in a few days as soon as she gets here from K7."

"Understood sir," Jaden said, nodding. "I'll be sure to let the Captain know. Is there anything else I should know?"

"That we're having negotiations with the Klingons in the Regulus system," the Admiral said. "Starfleet Command will be sending your task force, for… obvious reasons."

"You _do _realize the moment Ron steps foot there, every last Klingon ship is going to be gunning for him, right?" Jaden asked.

"We're hoping enough of the Klingons who faced him remember how often he's whooped their asses survived and are there to make sure they DON'T start something," the Admiral said. "They might be warriors who see honor more often than they see reason, but they aren't stupid. Otherwise they wouldn't be a spacefaring species."

"Let's hope so," Jaden said with a sigh. "I'll be sure to let Ron know, we'll be over at the Regulus System when the negotiations begin."

"Then you're dismissed, Captain. In the meantime, I'm going to run him through Operation Return and the Second Battle of Chin'toka." Jaden did not want to know what the outcomes of those would be. He knew what they would be in general - Ron winning - but not how BADLY the enemy would suffer.

* * *

**_USS _****Raging Tempest**

* * *

Takeshi was sitting in his office on his ship, going over what information he could dig up on Pinkerton. He had his grandfather's stories, true, but he felt he needed a broader picture. He'd run into a bit of a dead end with the official records - classified and blacked out so badly that all you had was his name and date of birth - so Takeshi had had to call in a few favors with Tieria Erde, an Information Broker he'd dealt with in the past.

The information was still spotty, but the classified intel painted him as death incarnate: he took command of the _Exeter_ \- _Deliverance_-Class refit into a _Constitution_, NCC-1672 - and basically fucked up the Klingons in the Cathra system after its' recovery. His helmsman, Riza, was a Romulan-made, genderbent clone of himself that had basically defected to Starfleet (he didn't have all the records on THAT encounter) his Chief Engineer just popped out of nowhere in 2283, and he took command of the _Ptolemaeus_ in 87, two years after the destruction of the _Exeter_. HOW the Exeter was destroyed was still something he didn't know: Erde wasn't THAT connected.

'_Still, despite all the stuff I still don't know, it's no surprise they call him a Fleet Killer,_' Takeshi thought. '_Wonder what they'll do now that he's back…_'

"_Sir, message from Admiral Quinn,_" Rina reported from the Bridge. "_We're being reassigned._"

"Oh?"

"_They're forming a new task force, under Captain Pinkerton. We're part of it, as well as the Yorktown._"

It made sense to Takeshi: they were taking advantage of the man's experience: Ron had commanded ships for almost three decades, while he and Jaden were still rather wet behind the ears. And, of course, it would be one hell of a morale boost to have the second power trio of the 23rd Century reunited, even if only one of them was from that century.

"Understood," Takeshi said as he got up from his desk. "Any word as to our first assignment?"

"_We're to head to Regulus as soon as the _Ptolemaeus_ is ready._"

"The peace negotiations," Takeshi realized. "Isn't the _Kirk_ in that general area?"

"_Yes, sir._"

"They're really stacking the deck," Takeshi said as he remembered reading who the _Kirk_'s Security Officer was. "Both the Windstorm and the _Kuvah'Magh_ \- this'll be interesting."

* * *

**USS _Ptolemaeus_**

* * *

"WHY did you bring him on board, sir?" One of the security officers asked, as Ron walked with Ishmael through the ship, heading towards the Turbolift.

"Ishmael Takeo was my XO for 22 years: he deserved to take a tour of her." Ron said.

"He's seen dozens of_ Excelsior_-Class starships!"

"And none of them are the _Ptolemaeus_," Ishmael said, with a roll of his eyes as he followed Ron, managing to keep up with his pace despite using a cane, stepping inside the turbolift. "I'm guessing he was new around here?"

"I lost 400 people last month to the Klingons and the Romulans." Ron said, "They decided to say 'fuck it, we hate him more than we hate you' and tried to blow up the ship."

"They never seem to learn, do they?" Ishmael asked with a smirk, causing Ron too chuckle. "No, they don't." He said, before the lift stopped as they arrived at the bridge.

"Sir, we got a message… from…" Corspa began to say, before the bridge crew all saw who was with him. "I-Ishmael? Is that you?"

Ishmael chuckled a bit as he walked onto the bridge. "Yup… good to see the gang's all here, and in one piece," he said, glancing at Sonja with a small smirk. "So how you liking 25th century tech, Sonja?"

"Uh… it's a lot better than ours back in the 2290s," Sonja said, "Going to have to proof it against some of the shit we usually run into. I could use some help in engineering: they're putting in a new warp core."

"Sonja, I invited him up for a tour, not to-" Ron began, but Ishmael raised his hand.

"It's fine," he said. "Won't able to do much, but I'll help. What's the core?"

"Hell of a lot more powerful than the last one: uses some kind of fancy chronoton-infused casing to create a state of flux," Sonja said, "Prevents warp core breaches from… well, doing their thing."

"Just tell me where ya need me," Ishmael said, nodding. "May be old, but I sure as hell ain't senile."

Sonja looked at Ishmael for a moment before she chuckled a bit. "It's good to have you back, Ish." She said.

"Same," Ishmael said, before he diverted his attention towards a certain helmsman, who had also diverted her attention to him. "Riza…"

"Commander," Riza said, with slightly narrowed eyes. "Or should that be captain, now?"

"Riza-" Ish began to say, but Riza looked at her brother. "Sir, I would like permission to go over to ESD. We need to upgrade our shuttlecraft as well as acquire replacements."

Ron blinked. "That's the quartermaster's job-" Riza's glare shut his brother up. "Ok, permission granted." Riza left the bridge.

"She still hasn't forgiven you for taking command of the _Alliance,_" Ron said with a sigh. "Even though I'm the one who pushed you."

Ishmael let out a tired sigh. "I didn't want to leave the _Ptolemaeus_… I didn't want to leave any of you…" he said. "You convinced me it was for the best, but… it never felt right, not without you, the others, or her… and when ya'll vanished, it just made that guilt feel worse… wishing I had just said no and stayed with you all…" Ishmael shook his head. "Great, now I'm _really _starting to sound old…"

"If you didn't go, you'd've been trapped like the rest of us," Ron said. "Hell, I'm wishing I didn't go to that system at all. But we can't change history."

"You know better than that." Ishmael retorted with a knowing smirk.

"Not without making things worse, you ass," Sonja said with a chuckle. "I'll walk you down to Engineering. I owe you that much, at least."

"Lead the way, Sonja." Ishmael said, as Sonja and he left for the Turbolift to head for engineering.

"Corpsa, you were saying?" Ron asked.

"We uh, recieved a message from Admiral Quinn," the Andorian said. "He wants us, the _Yorktown, Raging Tempest, _and another ship to head to Regulus for the negotiations with the Klingons."

"Oh, lovely," Ron muttered. "I'm going to check what kind of torpedoes we have: the photons are great and all, but when you have to remove the safety interlocks to get them to 200 isotons, it's a pain in the ass."

* * *

"So, they didn't put in the upgrades I made back in the 80s," Sonja muttered, as she and Ishmael headed towards engineering.

"Huh?"

"The structural upgrades to the Connie!" Sonja shouted. "You know, the ones that would make a single ship last 70 years without a major rebuild?"

"Ah yeah, those," Ishmael said, recalling how Sonja had once told him about a massive upgrade to the _Constitution-_class line. "From what I recall, after you vanished they didn't have any of your plans _for _the upgrades on hand, so the resources that would have gone to them were used for newer starships like the _Constellation-_class, _Excelsior-_classes, and such. I tried to find the files myself, but… it was like they just vanished off the face of Starfleet records." He then smirked a bit. "Hopefully now, both with you and Scotty around the _Connie _can be reborn again."

"Wait, Scotty?" Sonja asked, blinking in surprise. "Scotty's still alive?!"

"Yeah, USS _Enterprise-D_ found him - he had put himself in a sort of Transporter stasis after his ship crashed back in 2294 - and stayed there for 74 years before the Big E found him in 2369. Last I heard, he's still working with Starfleet Corps of Engineers. He managed to solve how to conduct transwarp beaming."

"Goddamn, he got lucky, like us," Sonja said. "If you could call getting trapped with those assholes from Lantaru in a black hole for 11 decades lucky."

"Those guys, we know now," Ishmael said with a sigh. "They're called Borg."

"I do not want to know how. But I kinda need to," Sonja said. "How?"

"Starfleet first encountered the Borg when some omnipotent being called Q sent the _Enterprise-D _to J-25 - 7,000 lightyears from Federation space - to meet a Borg Cube there." Ishmael said with a growl. "I've fought Borg plenty of times after you and Ron went missing… when you fight them, don't hold back. One Cube managed to destroy nearly 40 Starships at Wolf 359 after assimilating the captain of the _Enterprise-D_. I don't need to tell you how much shit we'd be in if it were _Ron _that got assimilated."

"We would be doomed, that's what," Sonja said, shaking her head. "Wish they got us out of there for that shitstorm: so many lives…"

"We got better at kicking their asses," Ishmael said. "Blew up a cube before it got to Earth, then _Voyager _\- you're going to hear that a LOT - crippled their transwarp network and practically killed the Collective."

"Whoever _Voyager's _captain is, he's got balls of steel for pulling a Ron out of his ass," Sonja said, as Ishmael chuckled.

"She, actually," Ishmael said. "Captain Kathryn Janeway - well, _Admiral _Janeway now. Believe me, I think Ron'll like working with her if we do…" however, he then frowned. "But now with the Borg back in full swing… they've had to have replenished most of their former strength now… _that's _not going to make things easy on any of us."

"If not more. Here's hoping we find a way to strike back at them in wherever they come from."

"The Delta Quadrant."

"Yeah, there."

Both entered a turbolift, which took them down to main engineering. "Report, kiddies!" Sonja shouted. Most of the engineering staff were wearing the old beige and red cadet/NCO uniforms, and Ishmael shook his head. The _Exeter_/_Ptolemaeus_ crew rivaled Scotty's staff on the _Enterprise_ once.

"Well, we installed the new core, but we're having problems with the EPS conduits," One of the engineers said, "We could really use your help, ma'am. And yours… sir?"

"You got it." Ishmael said, cracking his knuckles. "Sonja, just tell me where ya need me."

"I'll rework the EPS conduits, get them to interface with this monster," Sonja said. "Once that's done, set the reaction to one-to-one, and we'll make sure this thing can't blow up in our faces. Fancy chronoton casing or not, I will never trust a warp core I don't know. And I DON'T know this core."

"Got it," Ishmael said, moving to one of the consols. "Ready when you are."

Sonja pulled out a laser torch, then walked toward one of the conduits before beginning her job. "Uh, sir?" one of the ensigns asked. "Commander Henderson doesn't get her hands dirty that much when we're around: says she has to make sure we don't blow up the ship because we have no clue what we're doing."

"Even though we do," Another one said.

"So, why does she trust you?" he asked. "Who are you?"

Ishmael chuckled a bit. "'Cause we've known each other for a long time," he said. "I've saved her ass about as many times as she's saved mine back in the day - plus I'm the only one who's ever proved her wrong 'bout something… just do me a favor and _don't _ask her about any incidents involving the _Exeter's_ tractor beam and natural satellites."

"Got it ready!" Sonja shouted as she hopped off the portside conduit, then made a quick inspection of the starboard. "You brats need to be whipped. You did the job without telling me."

"Uh-"

"Relax. For once, you didn't fuck it up. Fire it up!"

"Setting reactor to one-to-one," Ishmael said, as he typed in the commands. "Here we go!"

The matter/antimatter reaction began, and almost immediately, something went wrong. "Ma'am, picking up chronoton particles building up in the reaction chamber!" One of the engineers shouted.

"Fucking SCE!" Sonja shouted. "They NEVER test this shit on the ground! Eject the core!"

"I can't; the bolts aren't firing!"

"Alright, GTFO: EVERYONE OUT OF HERE!"

"Goddamnit," Ishmael growled as he started moving as fast as he could. "Shouldn't have quit my workout-" However as he was saying this, a bolt of energy discharged from the reactor, and hit Ishmael square in the back, sending him flying to the other end of engineering.

"ISHMAEL! Get that thing shut the fuck down or ejected!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

She ran towards him, then noticed his body was arcing, as if electrified. "Not this shit again; I thought we were done with it back in 88!" She pulled out her communicator. "Henderson to Earth Spacedock: medical emergency! Two to beam directly to medical facility!"

"Locking on. Stand by." Both disappeared in columns of light.

* * *

"How is he?" Ron asked, as he followed Sonja towards ESD's sickbay.

"Stable," Sonja said with a sigh. "Thankfully, they had something for what happened."

"How?"

"_Voyager_, that's how."

Ron shook his head as he entered ESD's main sickbay with Commander Burgess. "I'm going to hear that a lot," he muttered.

"Well, according to the reports, he had the kidneys of a 12 year old boy and the liver of a 90 year old man," Sonja said. "Right now… well, he asked that that be a surprise."

Ron blinked, before he looked at the Cot where Ishmael was sitting up from… and his eyes widened, as Ishmael was no longer the man pushing well in his hundreds… but now he looked much closer to his mid-twenties, looking just the same as Ron remembered before he left for his command of the _Alliance._

"Suprised? So am I," Ishmael said, as he gave himself a look at a mirror.

"How the fuck-"

"Same thing that happened to you back in 88, only we couldn't exactly use the main deflector to fix this with a chronoton pulse," Ishmael said. "Thankfully, _Voyager_ ran into something like this in the Delta Quadrant, and… well. I'm fucking young again."

"May the Klingons weep in fear," Ron said, as he began smirking a bit. "I assume you'll get posted back on a ship. We need good captains out there, making those fucks piss off."

"If I'm going on any ship, it's gonna be yours, Ron," Ishmael said. "I got command of the _Alliance,_ and the next thing I know _Ptolemaeus _goes MIA. I'm not leaving you guys this time - and don't you even _try _to convince me otherwise."

Ron was about to respond, before the medical bays opened as Jaden and Riza came inside. "Ron, what happened to Ish-" Riza began to say, before her eyes fell on Ish and proceeded to widen. "W-wha… Ish?" She asked, stunned.

"Yeah…" Ishmael said with a light chuckle, "Blame that new reactor for… well this. "

"The _fuck?!_" Jaden muttered. "How in the-"

"This happened before, only to me," Ron said. "It's why I look like I'm twenty, not 49. We get the shit the _Enterprise_ doesn't. So, new assignment?"

"Uhh, yeah… we're to head for the negotiations in a few hours," Jaden said. "I, uhh… hope you're ready."

"We are." Ishmael said, before he stood up. "I'll be joining the _Ptolemaeus's _crew for this one… time to come out of retirement." He glanced at Riza. "And I ain't leaving this time."

"Sonja?" Ron asked.

"Yeah?"

"Make sure that thing doesn't pull that AGAIN," he said. "As soon as that's done, we're leaving."

"We're still going to need the new torpedoes." Sonja said.

"Ishmael, consider yourself reinstated and demoted to Commander: that's your job," Ron said. "Sonja, warp core, shields, phasers: get them to modern and safe spec."

"You got it sir," Sonja said, as Ish nodded as well.

"Getting on that now," he said, smirking. "Just like old times."

"So, where's the E-C?" Ron asked.

"E-C?" Jaden asked in return.

"_Enterprise_ Captain," Ron said. "You know, NCC-1701-whatever suffix it has now?"

"Uhhh, there _is _no _Enterprise_… yet at least," Jaden said. "The _Enterprise-E_ was destroyed last year, and the _Enterprise-F _hasn't been commissioned yet."

"That is NOT good," Ron muttered. "Whenever there hasn't been an _Enterprise_, shit hits the fan almost immediately."

"The Cetean probe?"

"Fuck yes. I was at Starfleet Academy when that fucking thing showed up. I am NOT having a repeat of that." Ron looked to Jaden. "I'll see you when I get back to the _Ptolemaeus_, Captain."

"Got it, sir," Jaden said, before he saluted and made his way to the transporter room.

* * *

**_USS _****Liberator**

* * *

The sleek vessel, the _Avenger_-class USS _Liberator_ emerged from warp, coming into view of the planet below. Or at least as close as they could get. The _Liberator_ was perhaps the most unlikely vessel to join what was considered the worst task force any enemy would encounter, but considering the captain's reputation, it made perfect sense, especially with the fact that her fighting style put her at the top of the most "unlikely captains" list. Her random, out-of-control fighting style was not the best, but when confronted with unknown enemies, it always seemed to put them on edge and make them wary of Starfleet's ships.

The ship was slightly modded to account for her fighting methods, with slightly longer nacelles to account for speed and the shields were stronger for added defense. A major asset that threw most others for a loop was the fact that the _Liberator_ was equipped with a cloaking device, something that aided her more than once. Also, the ship didn't carry shuttles. That was one thing that often made people wonder just who was in command of the vessel. The last modification was not really a modification at all… at least on the outside.

It was a modification done on the inside.

Within the hold were four weapons. And each one was equipped to a small platform with miniature wings and engines for flight. Each one was also equipped with a crude, rudimentary version of the cloaking device used by the _Liberator_, albeit not as effective, but it got the job done. Each drone consisted of a weapon from an alien race the _Liberator_ had fought over the years, but one looked as if it had been partially assimilated by the Borg before it had been severed from the Collective. And each drone was controlled from four hastily assembled consoles on the bridge.

This was the secret weapon of the _Liberator_.

Captain Jessica Miller's brown eye softened a bit at the sight of her home world. She ran a hand through her short, messy brown hair and adjusted the headband she wore to keep her bangs out of her face. Her right eye was covered by an eye patch, with a scar barely visible above and below it. Unlike most other captains, she had taken to wearing a dark red trench coat that had the Starfleet emblem on the left side, right above her commbadge. And, as a result of several encounters with the Borg, her ship had within it a full stash of old 20th and 21st century projectile weapons: guns. Each crew member was also ordered to carry one gun as well as their phaser, but some crew even took to carrying bladed weapons; one man carried a farming sickle from his old home.

"Captain, we're approaching Space Dock," one of the bridge crew said.

She turned to look at him and nodded. "Right. Thanks." She walked over to not the command seat, but the helm and took the controls of the _Liberator_. She also had a habit of flying her own vessel, a trait that had saved it more than once.

At that point, the comm beeped and she looked back at Beth Rommel who was manning the comm station. The black haired woman looked up. "We're getting a transmission from Starfleet Command. Says it's urgent," she said.

"Patch it through," Jessica ordered.

Beth nodded and typed in the command.

Admiral Quinn appeared on the screen. "_Captain Miller. I presume you aren't going to go running off AGAIN?_" That WAS a frequent issue with her.

"No, sir," she said. "I just got back a few minutes ago. And I got a message saying that I'm supposed to meet up with…" She checked the orders on her PADD, which was lying on the console beside her. "A Jaden Takeo, Takeshi Yamato, and… Ronald Pinkerton!?" Her eyes went wide at that last name.

"_Yes, he's alive. He's currently retrofitting the _Ptolemaeus _with more modern spec equipment, as he will be taking general command._"

"Sir, Starfleet regulation 191 states that in a tactical situation, the ship with tactical superiority would lead a task force led by more than one captain. An _Avenger_ is more powerful than any _Excelsior_," Jessica remarked as she narrowed her eye.

"_Captain, it wouldn't matter if he were commanding a shuttlecraft: he would STILL kick your ass. He's in command._"

Jessica pursed her lips as she pondered this. She knew of his rep from having heard a bit about him. But it wasn't much, and yet, she didn't doubt his skill. She looked up. "All right. So, when do I meet up with them? And what's the mission?"

"_You're going to the Regulus system to make sure the negotiations go smoothly. Captain Pinkerton's presence will make things either easier or harder. It depends on the Klingons._"

Jessica nodded. "Right. When do I meet up with the new task force?" she asked.

"_Now: all of the ships are here. You're just waiting on him._"

She nodded. "Right. Thanks, sir. Miller out."

* * *

**USS _Yorktown _\- Bridge**

* * *

"So, what do we know about this Captain Miller?" Jaden asked, as he sat on the bridge of the _Yorktown._

"A capable captain, with a few issues with authority," T'Vrell said, looking through the report. "She's no diplomat. And while she's very good at taking on starships, she isn't Captain Pinkerton: she's not a fleet killer."

"There's only one Ronald Pinkerton as my Grandpa says," Jaden said. "Let's hope she doesn't pull a Leroy Jenkins on us or something."

"Message from the _Ptolemaeus_: she's leaving port. At - he's insane; at full impulse!" The space doors opened, and the _Ptolemaeus_ barely cleared them, showing of her helmsman's skills. "Ptolemaeus_ to all ships: enter formation and set course for the Regulus system, maximum warp._"

"Captain, you _do _realize there are regulations that specifically say to _not _use impulse until you are OUTSIDE Spacedock?!" Elisa shouted.

"_Meh. Riza can fly this thing out of tighter spaces than this at WARP speed. She's done it. I even have the logs to prove it. So, shall we?_"

"_Let's,_" Takeshi replied, as the _Raging Tempest_ formed up alongside the _Ptolemaeus_.

The _Liberator_ sped up alongside them next, throwing them for a loop. The _Avenger_-class still bore the marks of battle, but for the most part was in good shape.

"All ships in formation, Captain."

"Then…" Jaden smirked as he pointed forward. "Engage."

With that last command, the _Liberator, Ptolemaeus, Raging Tempest, _and _Yorktown_ all entered Warp speed, vanishing away from earth towards their destination.

* * *

**_Regulus system_**

* * *

The moment the fleet arrived, they knew something was wrong. The _Kirk _was nowhere to be seen, and there were Orion ships all over the place, including a trio of _Slavemaster_-Class battleships.

"Called it," Ron said.

"_What?_"

"The Klingons are pulling the peace is bullshit card," Ron said with a sigh. "Or at least one of them is. Fucking Khitomer conspiracy."

"_Well, best to let them know who they're up against now than later,_" Jaden said. "_Would you like to do the introductions Ron?_"

"With pleasure." Ron said, as Ishmael activated the Comm. "Orion vessels, this is Captain Ronald Pinkerton of the Federation starship _Ptolemaeus_. Explain your reasons for being here."

"_You are not the one the Klingons are so scared of. The man's dead, and you'll join him in his grave!_"

Ron sighed. "They never learn," he said. "Riza, Attack Pattern Pinkerton Lambda, Corpsa, photon torpedoes, dispersal pattern Zeta."

"Oh this is gonna be _good_," Ishmael said, grinning, as Riza did her thing. "Recording… now."

As the Ptolemaeus half-pipe/zig-zagged, the launchers fired out torpedo after torpedo, each impacting the Orion ships. "_What the hell?! Why can't we hit him?!_"

"_HAHA! It IS the Windstorm!_" A Klingon bird of prey decloaked, firing on an Orion Corsair cruiser. "_Ka'pla, Windstorm! I am General Kaas of the Klingon Defense force! 'Ambassador' B'vat is responsible for this dishonorable incident: I only wished to meet with the Kuvah'magh and speak with your ambassadors. Allow me to assist._"

"You just don't want me to blow your ass to Klingon hell."

"_Hey, they ain't shooting at us - it's a plus either way,_" Jaden said. "_Let's take care of these guys - Elisa, you know what to do!_"

"_Hey what about me!?_" a female voice barked over the comm. "_Leave some of these guys for me and my crew, too!_"

"He who dares. Attack Pattern Pinkerton Zeta, dispersal pattern Delta!" The _Ptolemaeus_ began its' assault, combined with the aggressive _Avenger_-Class ship, the small but deadly _Sao Paulo_, and the classic _Constitution_, the Orions decided that they weren't being paid enough for this. They ran. Screaming. Like little girls.

"_Well… that was anti-climatic,_" Jaden muttered. "_I was hoping for a bit more of a fight, but I won't complain._"

"_Damn right on that one…_" the female voice from before muttered.

"This is something I actually aim for: them running away."

"Boss, transmission from the ground from a Lieutenant Miral Paris."

Ron shrugged. "Patch 'er through."

A moment later, a woman's voice was heard. "_This is Lieutenant Paris: please respond!_"

"_What's the situation?_" the first female voice, no doubt belonging to Captain Miller, asked.

"_Orion ground forces, as well as Klingon attack teams, beamed down here and are setting up explosives. Security teams are responding, but there are a LOT of Orion mercs down here!_"

"Not a problem. We specialize in merc removal. Sonja, Riza, transporter room 1. Time to clean house."

"_Linda, get team one to the Transporter Room,_" Takeshi could be heard ordering. "_Much as I'd like to head down there and introduce them to my sword, I'm needed up here in case more ships show up!_"

"_I'll head down myself,_" Jaden said. "_Elisa, you've got command while I'm gone. Tell Alpha team to meet me in transporter room 1._"

"_I'm going, too!_" Jessica remarked. "_The rest of my crew can handle the ship well enough._"

"Bring as many as you like: I LOVE a party." Ron looked at Riza and Sonja before they left the bridge in Ishmael's more than capable hands.

* * *

**_USS _****Yorktown_ \- transporter room_**

* * *

"You know the drill, everyone," Jaden said, as he and T'Vrell entered the Transporter room where a team of Starfleet Officers decked in a type of body armor awaited them. "Standard tactics, keep your personal shields up, your eyes down range, fingers on your triggers, and we all come home in one piece."

"Sir, yes sir!" The Officers shouted as they moved onto the transporter pad.

"Let's do this," Jaden said, as he walked up to join them. "Energize."

THey were surrounded by light before they disappeared from the transporter room, then reappeared on the surface in front of a Klingon wearing a starfleet uniform. The lesser ridges identified her as a Klingon/human hybrid, and at the moment, there was only one of those in Starfleet: Miral Paris. "Captain, it's good to see a friendly face."

"Captain Jaden Takeo, USS _Yorktown_ \- glad we can help." Jaden said nodding. "If you have any wounded, we can beam them up to our ship now to be treated. We need to speak with whoever is in command down here."

"That… would probably be me," Miral said. "Most of the security personnel are NCOs."

Jaden nodded "Alright then, once Ron and the others beam down here, we can discuss a battle plan," He said.

The next group to join them was Jessica and her away team. The four materialized down on the planet's surface a few moments after Jaden had finished his sentence.

The first man with her was a big guy at six foot five and had short, yet shaggy brown hair that covered one of his eyes partially and he carried with him what looked to be a Remington shotgun, a bag draped over his shoulder, no doubt storage for extra ammo. He had ice blue eyes, and he looked to be very fit. His red uniform was strained against his body as a result.

The second person, a woman, had blonde, almost platinum hair, and dark green eyes. She stood at a more modest five foot ten and she wore the same uniform as the big man. She carried with her two submachine guns, and around her waist was a set of other clips. She looked back at the last person with them.

The last member of the group, a man, had short messy black hair and brown eyes. He too wore a red uniform, but with a green stripe down one of the arms. He stood at five foot eleven and he was more lean than the first man. He carried with him a pistol, but he had a bunch of clips strapped to his belt.

"Hey. Sorry. Had to get a few things," Jessica said as she pulled her own pistol out of her shoulder holster. "Captain Jessica Miller, and this is my away team." She gestured to the big man. "Tony Larson." The woman with the blonde hair smirked a bit. "Vanessa White." The man with the green stripe checked his pistol. "And Steven Krane."

Linda was the next to beam down, carrying a TR-116B. With her were two Assault Team members, one an Andorian with a Phaser Minigun, the other carried a standard Phaser Rifle, along with an engineer and a medic.

Another group of transporter columns appeared, depositing three people: Ron, Sonja and Riza. "Sonja, Riza, do what you do best. Make the Klingons piss off."

"On it, boss." The engineer walked off, carrying a large… tube.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Photon mortar. Boom."

"Nice." Jaden said with a small smirk. "Always wanted to use one of those… only seen 'em used in simulations at Starfleet."

"But what about her?" Miral asked, pointing at Riza. "All she has is a phaser pistol. And whatever that thing is on her back."

"That would be a semi-collapsible duranium/tritanium monomolecular scythe." Ron patted the sword on his hip. "My kilij is the same. Just watch my sister dance with that motherfucker."

"Oh," Jaden said as he pulled out the Kilij knife that Ayame had given him. "Now it makes sense why Ayame gave this to me…"

Jessica didn't even bother asking. What she did do instead was she reached up and grabbed her eye patch for a moment before hesitating. "So, what's the plan?" she asked.

"Kill everything," Ron said. "Disable the charges."

"That's… not a very Starfleet thing to say."

"The Klingons don't like the Starfleet way of doing things, and they think we'll corrupt their way of life when we'd leave them alone unless they did something incredibly stupid. So instead of carrying on as usual, show them what happens when you push us too far." All blinked at that. "What? Unlike the rest of you, I studied xenopsychology: I know how the Klingons think."

Jessica pursed her lips, but nodded as she adjusted her coat, checking the clips she carried on the interior. "Then let's get to work," she said.

"Ron's got a point - so let's get started." Jaden said nodding. "Do we know where most of their forces are? Their HQ?"

"They're at the Federation Embassy, and they have most of the people inside as hostages."

"Ok, then, Captain Takeo, you're with me. I'll sneak in through the back while Take over there makes them think we're coming in through the front."

"What makes you think that?"

"Yamatos are NOT subtle. If I took him with me, they'd know we're coming."

"And me? What will I do?" Jessica asked as she finally prepared to remove her eye patch.

"Help the defenders, you overdramatic twit. Now go: we've got work to do."

She felt her left eye twitch, but said nothing as she turned to her team. "C'mon!" she said. They turned and ran after her as she ran off.

Linda looked at Ron. "How did you know I was married to Takeshi?"

"Rin and Shirou were much the same way. Lucky guess."

Linda nodded. "I'll take an overwatch position," she said. "The rest of my team can handle the frontal distraction easily enough."

Jaden looked at Ron. "Lead the way, Captain," he said. "The sooner we get the hostages out of harm's way, the sooner we can just let loose on these guys."

Screaming was heard from close by. "And Riza proves her scariness once more. Follow me."

* * *

Linda had set up on a small ridge overlooking the entrance to the embassy. The team medic was looking over any injured from the previous strikes, while the engineer was helping disable any charges they found.

She sighted in on one of the enemy guards and waited for the signal.

"Pinkerton to all teams: Ten-break alpha. Strike, strike, strike. Give them hell." Linda opened fire, putting tritanium slugs into the heads of Klingons stupid enough to keep their shields down and their heads exposed.

At the same time, The two Assault Team members charged, their weapons on full auto and spitting out bolts of energy in cones at the enemy.

"Captain, a frontal assault is only going to get my team killed: status on the indoor objective?"

Screams were heard from inside, followed by several Klingons running OUT of the embassy. "_They remember me. and they're still scared of me. That makes your job easier._"

"Understood," Linda replied, even as she put another round through the head of one of the Klingon soldiers.

"_Don't shoot, Starfleet! We surrender! It is better to live our days in dishonor than die at… their hands!_"

"They consider dying at your hands worse than being prisoners?"

"_No, they consider dying at Riza and Sonja's hands worse than being dishonored prisoners._"

"Raging Tempest_ to ground teams: a Klingon _Negh'var_-Class battlecruiser just decloaked. You'd better get back up here._"

"This can't be good…" Jaden muttered, tapping his comm badge. "Beam me up - straight to the bridge please."

Jaden vanished for a few moments before he appeared back on the bridge of the _Yorktown._ "Alright ,what are we dealing with?"

"Single _Negh'Var_-Class battlecruiser, range 150000 kilometers," Elisa said. "They'll be in weapons range in three minutes. I don't think I need to tell you who their primary target is."

Jaden sighed. "I hope someone picked up that phone, 'cause I fucking called it," he said. "Prep Phasers and Torpedoes, though I'm pretty sure Ron can handle a single _Negh'Var._"

"We're being hailed by the Klingon warship, IDed as IKS Baj. 'Ambassador' B'vat wants to talk to you." The sarcasm in Elisa's use of 'ambassador' was not hard to miss. Clearly, the jackass wanted to gloat before trying to kill them.

Jaden rolled his eyes. "Patch it through," he said.

The image of the Klingon bridge appeared, with a Klingon man clearly in his latter years sitting in the command chair. "_You are Takeo. The Empire will never accept peace with the Federation, and your kuvah'magh is nothing more than a lie! You will be the message sent back to your leaders in blood, along with the pretender Windstorm!_"

Jaden was glancing at a PADD before he glanced up at the screen. "Hmm? You say something?" he asked, rather nonchalantly.

B'vat roared before closing the channel and switching targets from the _Ptolemaeus_ to the _Yorktown_. "You made him angry," Elisa said. "He's increasing speed." The ship rocked from weapons fire hitting the shields. "And he wants to kill us."

"Then clearly we're doing something right," Jaden said. "Return fire, don't hold back on e'm! If Ron can use this bird to take on a Heavy Carrier, we can sure as hell use it to take out a _Negh'var_!"

* * *

On board the _Liberator_, Jessica's eye narrowed as she frowned. "Now we can do something!" she said. "Something worthwhile!"

She reached for her eye patch and lifted it up, revealing her right eye. Unlike her left eye, which was normal, her right eye was a bright blue in the iris with green circuit lines etched on it and had an orange pupil. Her right eye was cybernetic, a replacement for when she had lost her old eye in a bar fight.

"All hands, prepare for combat! Deploy the drones and engage cloaking! We're going in!" she said.

The team nodded and at once the call went out over the shipwide comm system. Jessica took the seat and grasped the controls of the helm. "Here we go!"

Outside, the ship's shuttle bays opened and the vessel's drones flitted out, cloaking as well as the ship vanished from sight. The Klingons were no doubt caught by surprise as the _Yorktown_ returned fire, and she used that to her advantage. "Wepps, fire off a few PTs and nail that ship's shield!" she ordered.

The man nodded. "On it!" he said. The vessel's photon torpedoes launched from the front tubes, streaking for the Klingon cruiser's side. They exploded against the shielding, making it waver as she grinned. "All right! Let's get this rocking!"

* * *

"Attack pattern Pinkerton Delta. Arm photon torpedoes and stand by on-" Lights began flickering before Ron could finish his command. "NOW what?"

"The power network's going to hell in a handbasket: we didn't exactly have enough time to undergo a true refit."

"Oh, that's just fucking-" The _Ptolemaeus_ shook under the weight of the Baj's heavy disruptor cannons impacting the shields.

However, a hail of Phasers then hit the _Negh'Var _near the rear, as the _Yorktown _moved in to support the _Ptolemaeus._ "_Hang in there Captain, we'll take the heat off of you while you get your ship squared away!_" Jaden said.

"_Heads up, people! Photon torps away!_" Jessica barked over the comm as two more volleys slammed into the Klingon vessel from seemingly nowhere.

"_Eat this!_" Takeshi yelled, another barrage of fire slamming into the _Negh'Var_ as the _Raging Tempest_ strafed it.

"_Bah! You win this time, Takeo!_"

"_Hey,_ B'vat! _Remember me? It's your old friend, mister asshole!_" Silence followed for a moment before they heard screaming from the Klingon end of the link and the Baj ran off at warp speed.

Jessica blinked as her image came up on the bridge monitor. "_Wow… Fastest I ever saw a Klingon vessel flee before._"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Helps that I've met B'vat before. Knew I recognized the name: asshole tried to kill me in '70 before the _Exe_ was refit."

"_Well it certainly got him to piss off quick,_" Jaden said. "_Well, that's one problem averted… now what?_"

"We report to command. And I get a new ship: the Ptolemaeus needs an ACTUAL refit."

* * *

**Earth Spacedock**

* * *

"The SCE was rushed when they retrofit your ship, Captain, so I'm sending one of our newer ships for you to take command of until it's complete: the USS _Guardian_."

On the monitor, Jaden balked. "That chimaera?" he asked. "Why?"

"We recently refit her." The _Guardian_ was the first of her class, and Jaden's use of the term chimaera was ancestral. The ship was a stepping stone from the_ Ambassador_-Class - of which the _Enterprise-C_ was a member of - and the _Galaxy_-Class. Only five of the ships were actually built, and all of them were in mothballs after the _Galaxy_ was launched. Even the Dominion War didn't have THEM pulled out, so they were desperate.

"Well, it _is _a step up from the average _Excelsior,_" Jaden said. "Though I personally think something along the lines of a _Sovereign-_class or one of its variants would be more fitting for Captain Pinkerton. Much more mobile, heavily armed and armored. Though I doubt we have many available for him to command however."

"We don't," the Admiral said. "The _Guardian_ will be en route in an hour, as well as Admiral Lamperouge."

"As in Lelouch Lamperouge, the same guy who thinks Ron is a myth concocted by Starfleet Tactical to make us all feel worse about ourselves?" Jaden asked with a smirk. "Oh, this should be fun."

Jessica's eye narrowed a bit. "Somehow I don't think this is gonna end well…" she muttered.

"The Admiral pushed to take command of the task force." The Admiral said. "I think he wants to prove that Captain Pinkerton is a fraud."

"Well, he's not," Jessica said, looking back with her visible eye. "And we can prove it."

"He's informed me that he intends to test the Captain personally. He may or may not decide to pull rank in order to make you fight him as well." He shuddered at the thought of the _Guardian_ engaging four ships at once to test the ship's capabilities.

"Well, if it happens, we'll be ready," Takeshi informed.

"Give Captain Pinkerton my compliments. Quinn out." He ended the transmission, just as the Guardian and her escort, the Escalvantine, left ESD. "This will not end well."

* * *

**USS _Escalvantine_**

* * *

The bridge of the _Armitage_-Class Heavy Escort Carrier _Escalvantine_ was different from most ships of its kind. The Bridge Module was mostly like that of the _Galaxy_-Class, specifically the Bridge Module made famous by the _Enterprise_-D, but the rear bank of consoles had been removed, and the bridge itself expanded backwards from that point to include a Tactical System Display, which could display anything from monitor images to a map of the area around the ship. And while the ship's nominal captain, Jeremiah Gottwald, still sat in the captain's chair in its typical location, this rear chamber was where the ship's **_true_** commander spent most of his time, even more than in the traditional ready room or conference lounge.

Said commander, Rear Admiral Lelouch Lamperouge, was there right now, having a discussion with his Security Chief/Wing Commander/Lover and the AI unit he had installed in his ship after finding it in an ancient facility.

"So, our opponents are an _Excelsior_-Class supposedly commanded by Starfleet's boogeyman, a _Sao Paulo_ commanded by the Adrenaline Junkie pilot, an _Avenger_ commanded by one of our true Maverick captains, and a _Constitution_ commanded by a brat fresh out of the Academy," the black-haired, violet-eyed Rear Admiral in an all-black version of the Odyssey Uniform remarked. "CC, your analysis?"

"_I've accessed what little we have on Captain Pinkerton using your clearance, Lelouch,_" the ancient AI, whose shorthand name stood for 'Circumstance Calculator', replied. "_Starfleet Tactical seems to believe that Pinkerton can do what they claim he can do._"

"Taking down an entire fleet of Klingon warships in an outdated _Constitution_? Beating the test that took a man cheating to beat? Even I can't do that."

"Agreed," replied the other person at the table, a red-haired woman in a bright-red flight suit. "I just can't believe he's as much of a Fleet Killer as everyone makes him out to be."

"Meaning either the records are false and the result of overhyping, or someone decided to classify most of his record," Lelouch mused.

"_The records seem to point to the latter,_" CC informed. "_83% of his service record is classified, and the rest requires Level-9 clearance just to view._"

Lelouch pondered that for a moment. "It seems we'll get a chance to see his skills firsthand, eh, Kallen?" he said.

"He won't stand a chance in hell against our fighter squadrons. I doubt he's very good at anti-fighter tactics. And if he's from the 23rd century, he's a century behind the times. His ass is ours."

"We'll see," Lelouch said. "Not to mention I'm interested to see how his tactics fare against mine."

* * *

**_USS_**** Yorktown**

* * *

"On top of the world… on top of it all… trying to be invincible…" Jaden muttered to himself as he had a pair of earphones on, listening to a song on his PADD, trying to kill time until they got their next assignment.

"I didn't think PADD's could be MP3 players…" T'Vrell muttered.

"Jaden specially modified his," Elisa said. "He made it to pretty much act like one of those old 21st century iPads Apple made."

While that was interesting, they had other problems. If the Klingons snuck a large Orion force into Federation space, they could easily get another one to Regulus, and without their chief killer, they were still in danger. "Transwarp conduit detected: two Federation starships. One of them is the _Escalvantine_." T'Vrell said.

"Yo Jaden, we've got company." Elisa said, tapping Jaden's shoulder.

"Hm? Ah, they're here!" Jaden said as he pulled out his earphones. "'bout time. Time for the show!"

"We're being hailed by Admiral Lamperouge," T'Vrell said.

Jaden smirked a bit. "Patch it through," he said.

"Escalvantine_ to _Yorktown_, _Raging Tempest_, _Ptolemaeus_, and _Liberator_,_" came Lelouch's voice as his image appeared on the viewscreen. "_I see you are all in good condition._"

"_This is Captain Pinkerton on the _Ptolemaeus_. I heard you have a new ship for me while the _Ptolemaeus_ is being refit._"

"_That I do, 'Captain'. I look forward to seeing if you live up to the hype Starfleet Command gives you. If not… well, then I'll know you're just a fake._"

"_…your ass. Mine. I don't take kindly to being mocked by a fucking CHILD._"

"_…_" Jessica's image frowned, but she knew better than to mouth off against the Admiral. She wasn't _that_ stupid, but even so, she still felt a bit of fury, having seen Ron in action. She knew how good he was.

"Get ready to eat those words, Admiral Lamperouge," Jaden said grinning.

"_It's unfortunate, Captain, that you won't be helping him. He's a fleet killer, isn't he? Let him prove it. First I'll test him myself. Then… all of you will test him._"

"What?!"

"_I'm pulling rank, Captain. You're going to help me._"

Jessica's eyes narrowed. "_Dammit…_" she muttered.

"_Hoo boy…_" Takeshi muttered. "_Better tell Mogire to prep for casualties - even in wargame scenarios, from what I can tell Ron has a bit of a problem with holding back._"

* * *

**USS _Guardian_**

* * *

The _Ptolemaeus_' crew had beamed over only a few minutes before, and Ron was already plotting Lelouch's doom. "The _Akira_ and her ilk are light carriers, aren't they? Make sure that he can't use them, Corpsa."

"Aye, sir."

"Riza, make this ship dance."

The younger Pinkerton took the helm and reconfigured it to 23rd century standards. "They won't know what hit them."

"Ish, Sonja? Do what you do best."

* * *

**_USS_**** Liberator**

* * *

Jessica gritted her teeth as she looked over the consoles, her eyes hard. "Why he decided to do this, I have _no_ idea, but we sure as hell can't get out of it…" Tony grumbled from his own station.

"Gee, ya think?" Jessica remarked. "He pulled rank on us. And if there's one thing we're gonna do, it's do what we do best ourselves!"

"And that's saying something. But you gotta remember, Ron's better at this than we are," Vanessa remarked. "He's a fleet killer!"

"I know. But we're gonna do what we can, and if he does prove the admiral wrong, then thank God for that! I don't want to damage this ship, so we'll have to do what we can to avoid damage… if at all," Jessica said as she finally sat back in the helm's chair and gripped the controls stick and throttle. "So, let's get ready. Something tells me we're gonna need to give this all we got."

* * *

**USS _Raging Tempest_**

* * *

"We are going to die. We've seen what he can do. He is going to destroy us."

"I agree he's likely not going to let up," Takeshi informed, even as he typed commands into the helm console. "But we're not going to die here. Even if we lose, I'm not going to make it easy for him." He turned to his chief engineer. "Matt, I'm going to need everything you can get out of weapons, shields, and especially engines… and see if you can fine-tune our Cloaking Device a bit."

"I'll do what I can," Matt replied.

"Kim, keep your eyes peeled. I need to know the situation on the battlefield as best I can at any given moment."

"On it," Kim informed.

"Kev, you know the drill - all firing patterns on standby and ready to go whenever I order them."

"Sure thing, Boss," Kevin said nonchalantly.

"OK…" Takeshi finished, grasping his manual steering column and manual impulse throttle, even as Brok'tan hit the button to activate all Bridge safety harnesses. "Let's give it our best shot."

* * *

**USS _Yorktown_**

* * *

"Once the Mock battle begins, activate mock self destruct."

"Wait, what?!" Elisa asked. "You _don't _want to fight Ron?"

"Do you?" Jaden asked. "I'd rather just sit back and watch Lelouch humiliate himself - I don't like Admirals who pull rank just to get their shit done…" However he then blinked before he smirked. "Actually, cancel that thought… I got a better idea… and it should piss him off even more."

* * *

**USS _Guardian_**

* * *

"So, our primary target is the carrier," Ron said. "Brush the others aside and make Lamperouge realize that we are NOT to be fucked with. All hands, battlestations!" The bridge darkened as red trailing lights activated, indicating that they were at alert status red. "Target the _Liberator_, attack pattern Pinkerton Upsilon."

"You REALLY want her out of the way." The 60-year old starship fired her updated impulse engines, beginning a corkscrew that changed from clockwise to counterclockwise at random intervals, throwing off their aim.

But the _Liberator_'s captain had a few tricks of her own. At once the ship snapped to the right, engines glowing at full impulse, her full speed coming into play. The battlecruiser banked around and a few photon torps leapt from their tubes, flying right for the _Guardian_-class prototype. The ship then fired phasers, detonating the torps and vanishing into cloaking under the cover of the explosion.

"Idiot. Phasers, full burst." The phaser arrays began firing, impacting the _Liberator_'s hull under cloak, allowing Ron to target the _Avenger_ with a full spread of photon torpedoes, all set to their - simulated - maximum yield of 30 isotons. The battlecruiser would not survive the impacts, as the ship had no shields. The torpedoes impacted, and the computer labeled the _Liberator_ as 'destroyed'.

A loud burst of swearing came over the comm from the ship. No doubt from one of the crew (Tony, for it had been his idea to try that trick), for the captain herself, although she was pissed, knew to keep her cool when around the Admiral. But a smirk crossed her face. "He's in for it…" she muttered.

"Target the _Raging Tempest_, attack pattern Pinkerton Delta-Four." That AP was designed for taking out BoPs: it would work perfectly against the escort.

Takeshi wasn't going down that easily though, ducking and weaving around the _Guardian_'s shots as he charged straight _towards_ it, cannons spitting fire onto the larger ship's shields. One torpedo looked like it was going to hit - before a small turret installed on the top of the escort opened fire, destroying the torpedo. Takeshi then decided to try that trick he'd been practicing, as he fired off another burst of cannon and torpedo fire, before angling the ship slightly - and went to Warp for the briefest of split seconds, coming out practically on top of the _Guardian_, blasting it with more Phaser Cannon fire as he blitzed past.

"Shields at 67%. Minor thermal damage to the hull."

"He wants to play this game with me? Fine. Riza, attack pattern Pinkerton Sigma." The _Guardian_ banked 80 degrees, then fired her phasers, which the _Tempest_ avoided, not knowing they were being shepherded. Photon torpedoes left the aft tube, then were shot by a phaser beam each, sending out a photonic shockwave each, making the ship too difficult to fly.

Takeshi barely managed to keep the ship level during the shockwaves, but that was all Ron had needed to use precision phaser strikes to disable the shield generator and engines. While not 'destroyed', the _Raging Tempest_ was out of the fight.

"Well, that was a bit anticlimactic," Kim remarked. "At least we got one solid hit with that technique you used."

Takeshi grinned. Even if they'd lost, he'd still managed to perfect his personal variant of the legendary Picard Maneuver. And that was good enough for him. '_Good luck, Ron…_' he thought.

All this left was the _Escalvantine_ and _Yorktown,_ as the latter of which has moved beside the carrier. The _Yorktown _opened fire… but not at the _Guardian _as Training Phasers impacted against the shields of the _Escalvantine._

"_What the - what are you _doing?!" Lelouch shouted, followed by Jaden's laughter.

"_Consider this a defection, Admiral!_" Jaden said. "_I'd Rather fight _with _Ron than against him!_"

"Back off, Jaden." Ron said with an amused smirk. "I'll take him. Riza, pattern Pinkerton Omicron."

"He's launching fighters: two squadrons."

"_I'll let you take care of them, sir._" Jaden said with a chuckle, "_They're screwed either way._"

* * *

**USS _Escalvantine_**

* * *

Lelouch was pulling the hair out of his head. He was getting his ass kicked by one man! ONE MAN! He had disabled the _Raging Tempest_, taken out the _Liberator_, and the _Yorktown_ wasn't bothering to engage!

"Launch B-Group and N-Group," he ordered, doing his best to at least keep an exterior calm. "We'll come around behind them while they hold their attention, then conduct a pincer assault, with Q-1, R-Group, and P-Group assisting us."

The _Peregrines_ launched, but didn't get closer than 15000 kilometers as the _Guardian_ fired off a volley of photon torpedoes, five of them heading for gaps in the formation. Lelouch realized too late what he was doing. "BREAK OFF!" Five phaser beams hit the photons, causing photonic shockwaves that knocked the fighters into one another, even actually destroying a number in the process.

"_Sorry, brat. I know how to kill fighters with a capital ship._"

Lelouch did his best not to growl. Calm, he needed to at least appear calm even if he really wasn't… "Initiate plan B-7," he ordered. The _Escalvantine_ fired a volley of quantum torpedoes, before using its phasers to detonate them a short distance away from the ship, blocking Ron from any view of the ship. A few seconds passed, before the ship emerged from the explosion cloud, opening fire with its phasers and more quantum torpedoes.

As the _Guardian_ began returning fire, it suddenly found itself coming under fire as another squadron of _Peregrines_, which had launched under cover of the explosions and masked their energy signatures to avoid detection, attacked from behind, concentrating their fire on the ship's Warp Nacelles.

Unfortunately, masking their signature only worked on automatic targeting systems, not manual. The ship shuddered from a well-aimed phaser beam hitting them in the ass. And moments later, the power failed. "What the hell?!"

"He's using his main deflector to generate a resonance pulse! Damn it, he knows our ships better than we do: he's knocked out main power!"

As the _Escalvantine_ was quickly disabled, Lelouch was inwardly seething. On the one hand, he now indeed had proof that Ron's skills were genuine. However, the fact that he'd been beaten so soundly definitely got on his nerves.

"_Oh, kiddies…_" Ron's tone took a turn for the creepy. "_Bye._" A number of torpedoes slammed into the ship, and the battle was over. They were beaten by the fleet killer. "_Well, Take and you were the hardest assholes I've had the misfortune of fighting. Then again, I wouldn't've had this issue with the_ Ptolemaeus."

"I see," Lelouch said. "Well, your skills are definitely as advertised, Captain. Perhaps sometime we might be able to play a game of chess?"

The ship shook from another torpedo, this time a REAL one, hitting them. "I'll take that as a no."

"_If you bothered asking for my personnel file, you'd know that I don't play board games._" Ron said. "_Now, are you going to stop being an idiot or not?_"

Lelouch sighed. "_Alright, Alright,_" he said. "You really are the Windstorm that everyone keeps talking about… I still have doubts, but I guess I'll be seeing you in actual combat soon enough."

"_I'll take a few days of getting used to this bucket before unleashing hell. _Ptolemaeus_ Actual out._" The link cut out.

"_I think you made him angry,_" CC informed.

"Likely," Lelouch replied. "Well, hopefully we'll be able to work together with him when we get our next orders."

* * *

**Later - USS _Yorktown_**

**Captain's Quarters**

* * *

"I'll never understand how we're in the 25th century… and yet people still play Minecraft," Jaden muttered as he sat at a computer as he played the old 21st century game which had somehow managed to stand the test of time all the way to the 25th century. "Still fun - GAH CREEPER! FUCK YOU!"

However, he heard a beep at his door, signalling someone was at the door. He paused the game. "Come," he said, and a few moments later the door opened as T'Vrell walked inside. "Oh, hey T'Vrell! What are you-?" However, he noticed that her face was increasingly red, and her eyes looked a bit glazed over. "T'Vrell?" he asked, standing up. "You… alright?"

"I… Uhh…" T'Vrell muttered, scratching the back of her head for a moment before she took a deep breath. "Oh, fuck it." She then approached Jaden, and planted her lips right on his, greatly surprising Jaden for a good few moments. Though after a few moments of letting the contact process through his brain, Jaden began to return the kiss. They remained like this for a good few minutes before they broke apart for air.

"Okay… not complaining, but… what was that about?" Jaden asked, blushing a bit, as was T'Vrell.

"It… it's a Vulcan thing…" she said. "I… I'm going through w-what we call Pon Farr… n-not many outside the v-vulcan community know of it… e-every seven years V-vulcans must… m-mate, or else… we go a bit… c-crazy…"

"Oh," Jaden said, before once again the meaning processed through his mind as his eyes widened. "OH! Uhhh… o-okay, Uhhh…"

"This… this is my first Pon Farr… to be honest…" T'Vrell said with a large blush. "I… I was hoping I'd still have some time, but… I don't… but if… if I'm gonna do this… I… I want to do it with… with someone I trust and… and l-love…"

"Abuh?" Jaden asked, as T'Vrell smiled a bit.

"I… I love you, Jaden," she said. "You… have always helped me out in the Academy, and… I… I can't think of anyone else who I'd trust more than you with this…I… understand though if-" She was cut off however as Jaden then kissed her, mildly surprising her, before she quickly began returning the kiss.

"I understand… T'Vrell," Jaden said, once they separated. "And… I love you too… I've had a crush on you for… for a while, but…" He chuckled a bit sheepishly. "You know I was never good with… stuff like this…"

"True," T'vrell said, before she shivered a bit. "J-Jaden… we… we need to do this… n-now! I can't…"

Jaden nodded. "Alright… computer: lock the door, please. And activate the sound suppression field," he said, as the door locked, and a sound suppression field surrounded the quarters to avoid anyone else from… listening in. "Now… let's do it."

* * *

**USS _Guardian_**

* * *

"It's going to take me a few days to get used to this bucket of bolts," Riza said. "It turns like a pig."

Ron shook his head. The _Guardian_ had twice the mass of the _Ptolemaeus_, and the LCARS setup was different than his sister was used to, making it a LOT harder to pilot. It was like a Camel pilot going into an F-4 Phantom II, or an Su-33 Flanker-D. "Do what you can." He said, "Ask Ishmael for help if you have to." Riza shook her head all too quickly, which her brother noticed. Riza was still attracted to Ish, although she felt betrayed for him leaving.

"I can handle it," she said defiantly.

"It will go faster if you get his help," he said. "Consider that an order."

Riza groaned for a minute before she sighed. "Yes sir…" she muttered.

Ron shook his head before Corpsa walked over to his chair. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"They need to make up eventually."

The Andorian was forced to agree before handing him a PADD. "This came in during the wargame. It's our next mission assignment."

"Oh, lovely."

* * *

Riza found Ishmael in main engineering, helping Sonja with the more complex (and EXTREMELY annoying) areas of the maintenance on the Guardian-Class. "Commander!" Ishmael's head popped up from Sonja's new booth. "I need your help on the bridge: the helm's being a pain in the ass."

"Uhh, sure hang on." Ishmael said, as he finished up what he was doing. "Alright, finished here Sonja! You good without me now?"

"I'll be fine: deal with your girlfriend."

"She's-" Sonja's glare cut off Ish's objection. "Alright." Ishmael left the booth, side-stepping the MSD 'pool table' to join Riza. "Let's take a walk. My brother wants us to get along again, so I don't have a choice but to talk to you." She was still pissed.

"Riza…" Ishmael said with a sigh. "I know you hate me for taking command of the _Alliance_… hell, I hate myself for it after what happened to the _Ptolemaeus_… Ron convinced me it was for the best."

"The BEST?!" Riza shouted out, surprising Ishmael. "You said, and I quote, 'I will never leave this crew!' But you DID! And three weeks later, so did Shirou! I have to worry about my brother making ME leave for my own good! I NEED to stay here, with them!" Ishmael could forget that Riza wasn't born and raised like a normal human: she was a clone of Ron created by the Romulans to kill him. And she was… needy as a result of that.

"Riza, I-" Ish began to say, but she wasn't finished yet.

"I still have _nightmares _from when I use to be with the Romulans!" Riza cried out, a few tears welling up in her eyes. "When Nii-san got abducted by Tal Shiar they got _WORSE!_ I-I can't lose Nii-san, you or the others again! I can't-" She was cut off however when Ishmael suddenly brought Riza into a tight embrace, freezing her for a moment, before she eased into the embrace.

"Hey, hey, hey…" Ish said softly. "I know… I know I messed up… big time," he said. "I broke my promise, Riza… but I am telling you this right now." He looked at Riza right in the eye. "I swear to you right now… I will _never _leave this crew again. I don't care what the Admirals, the President, or even your brother says… I am _staying _here, with you, Ron, Sonja, Corpsa and the others. I don't care if I stay a Commander for the rest of my life, I'm _staying _here."

Riza simply started crying, nuzzling into Ishmael's neck and holding him tighter then he was her. "Don't go," she whispered. "Don't go."

A bosun's whistle was heard over the internal comm. "_Ladies and gentlemen, this is your asshole captain speaking,_" Ron said. "_Command has deemed it fit to send us on our next assignment before we're ready! So, update your wills and prepare for pain!_"

Riza snorted, the sound being highly muffled by Ishmael's neck. "He always had a way with words," she said, causing Ishmael to chuckle a bit.

"That he does." He said, "Well, best we don't keep him waiting, right?"

She sniffed and wiped her nose before they headed for a turbolift.

* * *

"During the wargame, Command sent over a data packet with information on a weapons lab run by Ambassador Asshole." Ron said. "The intel comes from an informant in the Orion Syndicate, and the location of the lab is in a place called the Briar Patch." Ron looked at the monitor attached to his chair. "Anything you can tell me about it?"

"_The area contains high levels of metaphasic radiation, which can promote cellular regeneration - when the _Enterprise_-E visited the area, everyone was in peak health afterwards, and their chief engineer - who had been blind since birth, and seeing via optical implants - actually had his eyes affected by the radiation to where he could see without the implants. Of course, it's also a massive nebula, with pockets of Metreon Gas all over the place._"

Ron winced, knowing the effect that the metron gas would have if it were detonated. "We're going to need to get in and out quickly. Sonja knows how to make your engines proofed against the gas, so I'll send her over to do the job."

"And how do you-"

"If I tell you, you have two choices. Captain Miller, are you listening in?"

"…_How'd you know?_" she asked over the comm. "_And yeah, I am._"

'_The IQ of a goldfish if she didn't notice the link notifications._' Ron thought before he spoke. "I want you on patrol duty in the Patch: destroy any and all turrets in the area."

A smirk crossed her face. "_Got a few tricks up my sleeve. Those turrets will be gone in no time!_" The comm went dead and the _Liberator_ slipped away, vanishing under cloak.

"_That woman is an IDIOT._"

"Her file states her capabilities, which is good enough for me, Admiral," Ron said. "Besides, I'm in command of this task force, not you. I want Jaden on the away team with me when we board the base, he'll take whoever he needs."

"_Also, something else to consider,_" Takeshi informed. "_Remember when I said the _Enterprise_-E had been in the area before? Well, its executive officer, William Riker, actually used the Metreon Gas in the Patch offensively against two ships that were attacking it. If we stay clear of any pockets, but lure enemy ships to them then detonate the gas with our phasers…_"

"Leave the aggro to me," Ron said. "The Klingons know I'm back now." Getting into the cloud of death would be easy. Getting out without getting killed by the Klingons? That would be more difficult. "Now… will someone tell me where Jaden is now?"

"_I think he's still in his quarters,_" Elisa said. "_I've tried to raise him, but no luck. The sound suppressors of his room are on, as well. Doesn't make sense really… unless he's playing one of his 21st century era games._"

Ron said nothing about the games: he still had a copy of the (in)famous Tetris made back in 1986. Then he facepalmed. "Lieutenant, how old is Miss T'vrell?" he asked.

Elisa blinked. "_Uh, I think she turned 21 not too long ago,_" she said. "_Why?_"

Both of his hands met his face before he began swearing in Andorian, Vulcan and, of all things, Gorn. "Pon Farr."

"_Pon what?_"

"Vulcan mating cycle: happens every seven years on the dot once they reach sexual maturity." Ron said. "Usually around when they hit 21…"

Elisa let that process for a moment, before she blushed a bit. "_Oh… OH!_" she said. "_You… you think she's… and they…_"

"She likes him and they're having sex right now?" Ron asked. "Yes. I was a psychology student at the academy: I knew and saw all the signs when we met. Get us to the Patch. Flores, you're in command until they're done." Ron did not do blunt easily, but he didn't have a choice.

"_Lucky bastard…_" Ron could hear someone in the background of the _Yorktown's _bridge crew mutter, resulting in Elisa glaring somewhere behind her. "_Shutting up, ma'am._"

"_Anyways, understood sir,_" Elisa said, nodding. "_We'll be ready to head out momentarily!_"

The turbolift doors opened, and out came Riza and Ishmael. The red eyes his sister had were a good sign, at least combined with her relaxed posture. "We're going into a metreon gas-filled nebula," Ron told them. "The rest of the force will go ahead of us while you get a hold of the stick, Riza. I want those golden hands at their best."

"I thought we didn't have to deal with that shit after 89." Riza muttered.

"We do now," Ron said. "Take us out."

* * *

**Later - USS _Yorktown_**

**Captain's Quarters**

* * *

Jaden groaned a bit, as he finally began to groggily wake up. '_Geez… why does it feel like I ran a marathon…_' he thought to himself, as his head rubbed against something, followed by a soft feminine moan.

This caused Jaden to freeze for a moment, before he glanced up a bit, and he saw T'Vrell lying next to him - fully nude as, was he - who was still fast asleep, slightly snoring as her arms were still wrapped around him. The memories from last night quickly returned, causing Jaden to blush once more.

'_Ho-ly shit, that really happened…_' he thought. '_Just… jeez…_'

T'Vrell finally yawned a bit, before her eyes began to flutter open. She glanced at her surroundings for a moment, before her eyes met Jaden's. After a few moments of silence however, they proceeded to widen, as her blush rivaled Jaden's own. "Oh… wow…" she muttered, "That… really… wasn't a dream…"

"Y-yeah…" Jaden muttered. "That, uhh… Pon Farr thing…" He gulped a bit. "T'Vrell, I… I'm not sure if that Pon Farr thing was affecting your mental state, and what you said-"

"No, Jaden," T'Vrell said, shaking her head as she smiled. "I meant every word I said… I love you, Jaden Takeo… I love you more than anything else… the Pon Farr just helped me… come on out and say it." She blushed a bit more. "You're not the only one who's unsure about… things like these."

Jaden chuckled a bit. "Well, glad I ain't the only one," he said, before he kissed T'Vrell again. "I love you too, T'Vrell… more than anything else… I hope we can spend the rest of our lives together…" he then smirked a bit. "And I look forward for your next Pon Farr considering how… kinky you were." That last comment brought yet another bright blush across the Vulcan's cheeks.

The door to 'their' quarters opened. "Jaden, you weren't answering your - FUCK!"

The voice of their task force's commander got them to cover themselves up. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET HERE?!" Jaden shouted.

"I beamed over when you weren't answering!" Ron shouted back, covering his eyes. "Goddamn it, this ALWAYS happens!"

"FUCKING KNOCK NEXT TIME! JESUS!" Jaden shouted back. "THE DOOR WAS LOCKED FOR A REASON!"

"The door WASN'T!"

"WHAT?!"

"It wasn't locked!" Ron cupped his chin. "That always happens to me, no matter WHAT ship I'm on." (In an undisclosed location, a man wearing a leather uniform was laughing at his handiwork) He shook his head. "Just get dressed! We'll be at the Briar Patch in a few hours."

"Right! Just GET OUT!" Jaden shouted, as Ron sighed as he left, the door closing behind him. "God-fucking-damnit… "

"Well… we'd best get ready," T'Vrell said with a sigh as she got up. "Let's hope no one asks any questions…"

"Same here," Jaden said, nodding, as he picked out his uniform.

* * *

**Later - USS _Yorktown _bridge**

* * *

The expanse of gas before them was unnerving, and the metreon gas pockets were going to make going much more dangerous. "Sensors are still going a little crazy, but I'm detecting a large mass just inside the cloud, as well as a number of tritanium signatures," T'Vrell said from her science station.

"Is it safe for us to head inside?" Jaden asked.

"Safe enough, but I'm detecting no less then three large tritanium signatures: size estimates are approximately the same as Vo'quv-Class dreadnought carriers."

"The Guardian will handle the dreadnoughts. I need to test this thing against those oversized shitboxes, anyways."

Jaden nodded. "Alright then, ahead full impulse," he ordered, as the _Yorktown _steadily headed forward into the cloud.

Their first contact with the enemy came in the form of the _Connie_'s classic enemy: the _K'tinga_-Class battlecruiser. It was the standard type, with the classic bulb-type command module rather than the stretched version. "_And we come full circle._" Ron said. "_Seriously, Starfleet _Connies_ have been running into _K'tingas_ for years._"

"Try to hail them, maybe we can go through this _without _starting a fire fight." Jaden said.

"Channel open."

"This is Captain-"

The _Yorktown_ shook from a torpedo impacting the forward shields as Elisa facepalmed. "Goddamn blood knights! Elisa, please. Kill him."

"Firing!" Elisa said as the _Yorktown _fired its phasers at the enemy _K'tinga,_ impacting against its shields, and proceeding to impact against the hull of the enemy ship, resulting in a sizable explosion from the Battlecruiser.

"Ok, metreon gas is NOT something I want to-" The _Constitution_ flipped over from the gas explosion, and Elisa was NOT happy. "I. Hate. this. NEBULA!"

"It could be worse!"

"HOW?!"

"Subspace tears that we can't seal?" Another _K'tinga_-Class battlecruiser approached, only to get several phaser beams from the _Guardian_, which downed the shields for the _Yorktown_ to torpedo it to death.

"Scratch two." Jaden said. "They just don't know when to quit, do they… do we have an ID on the third signature?"

Sparks flew from the walls as they were hit by the most powerful KDF warship yet: the Vo'quv. "That's the IKS T'yark. If I remember correctly, that's the current flagship for the KDF 9th Fleet. What the hell is that thing doing here?!" A chime was heard before they heard a voice over the comm.

"_This is General D'lak of the IKS _T'yark_. Surrender, and your deaths will be honorable. Resist, and you will fall._"

"_Interesting proposal._" A beam of energy hit the _Vo'quv'_s starboard shields before the _Guardian_ moved in to support the _Yorktown_. "_Here's my counteroffer!_"

"Shoot that mother fucker down!" Jaden shouted, as the _Yorktown _opened up on the _T'yark_ alongside the _Guardian, _maneuvering to avoid being torn to pieces by the dreadnought.

The _T'yark _tried to focus on the _Guardian_, KNOWING the Windstorm was on board, failing to remember they had five enemy targets: the Yorktown, the Raging Tempest, the Ecalvantine and the ship they failed to notice, which took advantage of the dreadnought's shields weakening.

Under the cover of the attack, the cloaked _Liberator_ crept up, having dispatched the turrets. And thanks to being under cloak, they were unable to really be detected. That was the perfect chance she had to strike. Within moments of coming into torpedo range, the _Liberator_ spat out four quantum torps, the warheads slamming into the dreadnought's shields before decloaking and bugging out into warp a moment after the explosion. While not a very smart move, it did distract the _T'yark_ into hunting the battlecruiser down, giving the others time to attack as well.

The killing blow was landed by the _Yorktown_, which dumped a full volley of photon torpedoes into the dreadnought's engine block, causing a chain reaction that resulted in the warp core going critical, causing a massive fireball of death. "HOLY FUCK!"

"_Pinkerton to all ships: the way is clear. Move in to the base. _Raging Tempest, Liberator, Escalvantine_, provide cover. Jaden, get your ass to the transporter room._"

"Heading there now." Jaden said standing up "T'Vrell with me, Elisa, you're in command till I get back."

"Aye, sir. We'll hold down the fort."

* * *

**Klingon research post**

* * *

Two bekks entered a storage room, not expecting to run into a team of 8 Starfleet officers, four of them armed with 23rd Century assault phaser pistols, which shot through their chests and sent them to the deck, leaving small holes in their chests. "Uh… our phasers don't do that." Jaden said, glancing at his phaser.

"These things are a fuckton more powerful then your new type-2s." Ron said. "We didn't have Type-3s back in the 80s and 90s."

"Huh… okay then." Jaden said, "So where should we begin?"

Sonja pulled out a newer Mk XIXA tricorder. "Sensor scans indicate that the base is mostly linear: only one way to go," she said. I'm seeing a lot of Klingons, though."

Ron looked at Riza. "Imoto?"

"Onii-sama?"

The elder captain smirked before saying something in Romulan, again surprising the newer officers before Riza left the store room.

"What did you just say?"

"Roughly? 'Kill them all'." Male and female screams were heard from down the hallway.

"Remind me to _never _get on her bad side…" T'Vrell muttered, as Jaden nodded.

A Klingon ran into the room, covered in lavender blood. "The Windstorm?! Call off your attack dog-" A curved blade exited his chest before he was dragged back out, screaming.

"I think giving her that scythe was a bit of a mistake."

"Wait, that's a SCYTHE?"

"Yeah. Birthday gift." The elder captain left the storeroom, holstering his phaser.

Jaden and T'Vrell walked past Riza, with the Vulcan looking at the Scythe nodding in approval. "Nice," she said. "Where do I get one?"

"My brother made it for me." Riza said. "Making a monomolecular blade is a difficult process. Making one that fits into a pouch? Harder."

"Awesome…" T'Vrell muttered.

"T'Vrell, come on, we've got a job to do," Jaden said. "It's awesome I know, but we've got other things to deal with."

Another explosion was heard down the hall, followed by the sounds of actual gunfire. "FEAR MY GUN, FUCKERS!"

Riza put the staff weapon over her shoulder before going on ahead. "My brother's love of those older 21st century guns is going to be the end of someone." Riza said with a sigh, before Another explosion was heard. "He likes that grenade launcher."

"Hey, they work so why argue with it?" Jaden asked with a smirk. "I'd rather trust an AK-47 over a lot of modern day stuff any day, really."

"Will you get in here?! There's an asshole in here that needs to get his ass kicked!"

"Coming!" Riza ran off, followed by the others.

When they entered the next large chamber, they found a number of scientists cowering in corners, away from where Ron and a Klingon swordsmaster were trading blows using their respective weapons before Riza hacked the Klink's head off. "Thank you."

"Well, that takes care of that," Jaden said, before he approached one of the scientists. "Alright, now which one of you are willing to tell me just what he hell the Klingons are doing here?"

"They… They wanted us to make new weapons for them!" One of the scientists shouted. "Torpedoes that can destroy small planets and can punch through solid neutronium-"

"That's impossible." Ron said. "Neutronium is the densest substance we know of."

"We kept telling them that!" The scientist shouted. "We can't make weapons that can be fired from a torpedo tube with THAT kind of yield!"

That made one thing clear: the base needed to be blown the hell up. "Pinkerton to _Guardian_: I want you to beam in a few torpedoes." Ron said. "I'm going to make this base die in a fire."

"Takeo to _Yorktown,_ prepare to beam back a few scientists directly to the brig," Jaden said. "Once we get them checked out, we'll figure out what to do with them afterwards."

The two scientists disappeared in showers of light, before five photon torpedoes appeared in the center of the room. "Five?"

"1000 isotons of pure explosive force will turn this place into little more than a cloud of vapor. I'd know: I've done it." Ron opened one of the casings. "Jaden, I could use your help in removing the safeties."

"Got it." Jaden said, moving next to Ron to help him out. "Now… was it red, red, green, or red, green, red?"

"No, it's red, yellow, green, yellow, but remember to put the second yellow back in, or else we detonate the torpedo prematurely."

"Aren't we TRYING to blow up the torpedo?"

"Not without killing us in the process."

"Point. Red, yellow, green, yellow, second yellow back in." Jaden said. "Done."

"And repeat the process-" a disruptor bolt narrowly missed Ron's left ear. "While under fire!" Ron handed a bulky rifle to his sister, who pulled out the magazine and put in another one before opening fire at the Klingons coming in from the other entrance.

"These guys just don't know when to quit…" Jaden muttered. "Cover me while I take care of the rest of these!"

Riza unloaded another grenade into the doorway, taking out a number of warriors before racking the pump and firing another 30mm grenade into the hall. "Nice gun, commander. I don't think I've seen one like that in the historical record."

"That's because it wasn't a real weapon." Ron said. "It was based off an old science fiction weapon from a film made in the 1980s!"

"Ah! I knew I remembered it from somewhere!" Jaden said as he moved onto the third Torpedo. "That's the M41A Pulse Rifle from Aliens, right? Fucking A!"

"I've got a few of them in 10mm explosive tipped! Want one?"

"Fuck YES I want one!" Jaden shouted with a grin.

"Good: I'll send a few over once we're - HELLO." Ron said, as he was glancing over the many consoles in the room. "Vat is das?" Ron looked at a console, then frowned. "Assholes have a base in the Donia system. That's deep in Federation space! That's it! People die!"

"How could they have pulled that off?" Jaden asked, as he finished with the fourth torpedo, and moved on to the last one. "You'd think we'd noticed a Klingon base so deep in our territory."

"We're leaving as soon as that torpedo is set to blow," Ron pulled out a new model tricorder, then pressed a torpedoes began beeping and their innards began flashing. "Time to leave. Back to the ships!"

"_Yorktown,_ Beam us back, NOW!" Jaden ordered on his Comm.

The away teams disappeared in showers of light, shortly followed by what few surviving Klingons on the station attempting to disarm the torpedoes. Their efforts would be in vain.

* * *

**USS _Yorktown_**

* * *

Elisa was not having a good day. B'vat's personal ship, the _Baj_, had arrived with a number of _Somraw_ and _Vor'cha_-Class ships, and the sheer numbers were keeping them from doing anything to stop the few ships transporting what little they got out of the station.

"Report." Jaden said as he and T'Vrell walked back onto the bridge.

"B'vat just showed up. The rest of the fleet is engaging, but he brought a LOT of ships." The acting comm officer activated the the ship-to-ship communications array, putting B'vat, who was hailing them, through.

"_You fell into my trap like a Tarkelian sheep, Takeo! I LET Marta leak the information on this outpost to Starfleet Intelligence! Even the Windstorm can't help you now!_"

"We'll see about that," Jaden said, before he made a cutting motion, severing the link. "Potter, find his ship - time we took a plan out of Ron's playbook. You think you could do what Riza pulled off? Attack Pattern Pinkerton Lambda?"

"I can sure as hell try," Potter said, nodding.

"Prepare to fire phasers at his ship!" Jaden said. "Standby to vent warp plasma and arm the aft torpedo launcher! Wait for my word before we pull this off! Potter!"

"Yes sir!" Potter said, as the _Yorktown_ shot forward in a half-loop, performing the same technique Riza and Ron pulled off a few weeks ago at the borderland, using half-pipe zig-zags throwing off the _Baj's_ aim before they looped over the dorsal section. "Phasers!" Jaden shouted, as the _Yorktown _fired a volley of Phasers into the _Baj,_ "Warp Plasma, now!" The _Yorktown_ then flew forward, leaving behind a trail of warp plasma while doing so.

"Let's hope this works… Fire aft torpedoes six kilometers from the carrier, then fire phasers at the plasma and the torpedo! Now!" The _Yorktown's _aft Torpedo launcher fired a single torpedo back towards the carrier, before the phasers hit the torpedo, resulting in an explosion nudging it into the plasma. The _Yorktown _then fired its phasers into the Plasma shortly after, igniting it and resulting in a spectacular explosion which burned through the hull of the carrier.

"HAH! It worked!" Jaden shouted. "Finish her off! Take out her shields and blow her engines off!"

Before they could fire, however, the _Yorktown_ was hit with a very powerful torpedo from a _Ning'tao_ BoP, knocking it off course, allowing the _Negh'var_-Class battlecruiser to escape. "Damn it, what the hell HIT US!"

"I don't know! It had the yield of 130 isotons!"

"GODDAMNIT! We managed to pull that off almost perfectly!" Jaden shouted, before tapping his comm. "Zarva, how bad's the damage?"

"It knocked out our weapons arrays, and there's a bit of damage to the neck section, but we're in good shape."

"At least we're in no danger of losing the ship," Jaden said with a sigh. "What about the rest of the enemy fleet?" Five explosions on the screen gave him his answer.

"I think Ron's mopping 'em up," Elisa said, nodding.

"We _really _need to learn a few more thing from them…" Jaden muttered, nodding.

"Sir, we should get out of the Patch and contact Starfleet Command," Elisa said. "The _Guardian's_ already on the way out, taking out whatever enemy ship it comes across."

Jaden sighed, but nodded. "Alright, Anne? Take us out of here," he said, as the _Yorktown _followed the rest of the fleet out of the Patch.

* * *

**Meanwhile… in a dimensional pocket.**

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Joseph Cobb, Tactical Officer, and De-Facto Captain of the Federation Starfleet _Ambassador_-class Block 2 Heavy Cruiser USS _Independence, _was not having a fun four months. Why you may ask?

Well, considering an certain omnipotent being and the most BIGGEST pest of Starfleet, just HAD to pick HIS ship to play around with. By fun, meaning trapping the entire ship in a dimensional pocket, and enduring the pranks, if you can call them that, perpetrated by Q.

The madness his crew had endured was enough to drive most of them close to insanity, and it drove his captain and first officer to suicide. They were close to the breaking point. "Oh, Cobby! Where are you?~"

The poor Starfleet officer facepalmed in frustration. "Oh shit, not again," he said, as the said being appeared in a flash of light. "What the hell do you want now, Q?" he growled out.

"Oh, you know. I think I've had enough fun with you and you and your crew. I hope you enjoyed your stay!"

"I will fucking KILL you, Q!" Joseph barked out, while Q just smirked.

"You know you can't kill a godlike being, Cobby boy."

"Doesn't mean I won't find a way," he said. "You caused me and my crew a whole lot of grief."

Q gave Joseph a childish pout. "Killjoy…" he said. "Oh before I leave, I should warn you, that even though it has been only four months, but in actuality, you have been gone far longer than that."

Joseph immediately felt a feeling of dread at that. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"The year for those Gregorian morons is 2409. Bye!" Q snapped his fingers, blinding the crew while Joseph screamed in rage. When the light disappeared, they realized that they were in the Beta Quadrant: near the nebula called the Briar Patch.

"I'm gonna get that asshole…" he swore, before turning to the new XO, an Andorian female. "Try to get in contact with any Starfleet ships in the vicinity. If what Q said said is true, then we've been gone for TWENTY years,"

The Andorian nodded and went to the comm station in order to relay the order.

"This is the Federation starship USS _Independence _to any vessel in range. Please respond." Before she could repeat, a great deal of yelling was heard over the comm.

"_-Damn it, Corpsa, don't close that channel! _Independance_, this is Captain Pinkerton of the USS _Guardian_. Where the hell were YOU?_"

The Andorian only gave a tired sigh. "That's… a long story,"

"_We're coming to you. At least you weren't stuck in the event horizon of a black hole for over a century._"

* * *

**A few minutes Before**

* * *

The _Yorktown_, and the task force were just about to leave the Nebula, when a bright flash of light got their attention.

"What the shit!?" shouted Elisa. "What was that?"

"No idea…" Jaden said. "Is it the Klingons?"

Before T'Vrell could answer that, her console began to beep. "Sir, we're picking up a transmission - in the open."

"…_is the Federation starshi… pendence ….in range. Please respond._"

"Can you pull up the file on any ship with that name?" Jaden asked.

"I've got one that fits the name." Elisa said. "USS _Independence_, _Ambassador_-Class, NCC-47659. Went missing twenty years during a routine patrol of the Beta Quadrant, just close with the border of the Delta Quadrant."

Jaden blinked at that. "Twenty years ago?" he said.

"Just before the destruction of Romulus. The Guardian's hailing the Independance. Patching her through."

_-Damn it, Corpsa, don't close that channel! _Independence_, this is Captain Pinkerton of the USS _Guardian_. Where the hell were YOU?_"

"_That's… a long story,_"

"_We're coming to you._" Ron said. "_At least you weren't stuck in the event horizon of a black hole for over a century._"

"_Wait, what?_"

"_It's a long story. Stay put._"

"_Uh, right._ Independence, _over and out,_"

Then Ron's image appeared on the viewscreen.

"_I assume you heard that?" _he asked, and Jaden nodded.

"_I heard it too,_" Jessica piped up as she appeared on the monitor.

"_So did I,_" Takeshi informed, appearing as well. "_Something really weird's going on, here._"

"_Agreed. Take, Jaden, you're with me: we'll beam over to the Independance and get some answers. _Ptolemaeus_ Actual out._" The line cut out. "He keeps using Ptolemaeus." Jaden said. "I think he hates the Guardian."

"_Hey, what'll I do?_" Jessica asked, looking insulted. "_Keep watch or something?_"

"Just keep heading back to ESD with the others," Jaden said as he stood up. "Me, Takeshi and Ron can handle this just fine. Elisa you have the bridge - T'Vrell, with me."

* * *

**117Jorn: Geez, 16,670 words for this chap… this is actually split off from a 26,000-word chapter we had made.**

**Takeshi Yamato: As we've said a couple of times already, when we write, we _write_.**

**Ron the True Fan: That's MY line, Take. **

**Patriot-112: And we're not gonna stop. Even though I'm not a hardcore ST fan.**

**117Jorn: Either way, expect another chapter VERY soon after this. Like… in just a few minutes. So until next time…**

**Everyone: Ja Ne!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: None of us own Star Trek. None of us own Star Trek Online, though we all have Accounts there, and Takeshi Yamato and Ron the True Fan have Lifetime Subscriptions. We only own our OCs and OC-Specific Plotlines. Anything else you may recognize is the property of its respective owner.**

* * *

_This chapter is dedicated to a man who recently passed, a man who inspired a great many people._

_Leonard Nimoy - 1931 - 2015_

_He lived long. He prospered._

* * *

**Chapter 3: Guardians**

* * *

**USS _Independence_**

* * *

The state of the ship was not exactly ready for a state visit, but they were only letting a few officers from the other ships on board. It wasn't like the President was coming on board. Joseph took in slow breaths to calm himself down, he managed to give himself a shave and put on a fresh uniform as he and the surviving Command Staff waited for the visiting starfleet officers in the teleporter room.

"Are you alright, Joseph?" said Rella, the Andorian Communication officer, and now acting First Officer.

"Yeah, still can't believe it's been twenty years out here, while it's only been a few months in that damn pocket." he said as Rella placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We're out now, that's all that matters." she said, and Joseph nodded, as the crewmen in charge of the transporter spoke up.

"We're ready to receive, sir."

"Let them over, chief." Six towers of light materialized on the transporter pad, two of which were wearing older Starfleet uniforms. "Captain. Ronald Pinkerton, USS _Guardian._ Although if I had my way that would be USS _Ptolemaeus_."

Joseph, and the other _Independence_ crew all blinked at the name.

"Wait, the-," Joseph began to say, only to be stopped by a raised hand from Ron.

"Yes, the goddamn fleet killer. Now you know what I meant by stuck in the event horizon of a MOTHERFUCKING BLACK HOLE!"

The _Independence_ crew jumped back at that, while Jaden sighed as he facepalmed.

"Yeah. Still pissed about being led into a damned trap by those cockbites."

"Cockbites?"

"The assholes that blow up my last ship, made my life a living hell for two years teaching at the Academy and BLEW UP A SUN while turning it into a black hole. I think you know them as the Borg."

The _Independence _command staff all nodded at that, showing they understood. Joseph then fake-coughed into his hand.

"Anyway, I should introduce myself and the others," he said, and introduced himself, "Lieutenant Commander Joseph Cobb, formerly in charge of Engineering, and now de facto captain of the _Independence_." He then motioned to the Andorian woman to his left. "This is Rella Fillan, our Communications officer, and acting First Officer." The Andorian nodded in greeting, before Joseph motioned to a Bajoran male. "And this is Madek Teriel Ramos, our Security Officer, our doctor is busy at the moment, so…"

"I don't have a CMO, so the rest of my staff knows how the doc feels." The group made their way to a conference room before Jaden popped the question. "What happened? The last thing we knew, you just vanished."

The three gave a frustrated/tired sigh at that, as Joseph rubbed his temples.

"It started two weeks after we left for the border with the Delta Quadrant," he began. "We were searching for any rogue Maquis, or stray Borg ships, when… _he_ showed up."

"He?" Jaden asked with a raised eyebrow. "Care to be more specific?"

Joseph sighed. "Have you guys read about an omnipotent being encountered by the USS _Enterprise D_?" he asked.

"Heard of plenty of assholes that ran into the 1701 with godlike powers," Ron said. "The Organians, Trilaine, the Hate machine-"

"The Beta 116 entity," T'Vrell commented.

"Same fucking thing." Ron said, "Then there's _V'ger_, but I don't think that thing counts. Same with the Cetean probe-"

"Well, this asshole sent us into a dimensional pocket for four months, and pranked the living shit out of the entire crew until we've almost lost our minds," he said. "I once didn't believe the reports that Picard and Janeway sent to HQ, but now I believe them!"

"Wait a minute…" Takeshi said, a bit of recognition entering his expression. "Picard **_and_** Janeway… are you talking about Q?"

Joseph sighed and nodded. "Yup, and let me tell you, if I find a way to kill that bastard, I would most certainly do it within a heartbeat!" he said.

"You could always give him the Sisko treatment," Takeshi replied. "I remember reading that Captain Sisko had an encounter with Q during the early days of his tenure of command at DS9 - punched Q in the face, and Q apparently never came back."

"Yes, but Benny was far too serious for his own good." All eyes turned to Ron, and standing behind him… was Q. "I was just trying to give Cobby boy here-"

A backhanded fist met Q's face without Ron looking back.

"…did you just Batman backhand Q?"

"Yes," Ron replied, before he spun the chair around before kicking Q in the balls. "I also just kicked him in the dick. Got anything to say about that?"

A knife from Jaden hit Q right in the manhood soon after, resulting in yet another squeal of agony from the being. "That's for Vega and every other colony that got assimilated thanks to you, you son of a bitch!" Jaden shouted out. "If it weren't for you, the _Enterprise _never would've _met _the Borg and causing their invasion in the first fucking place!"

"Oh, so I have HIM to thank for things I can't state?" Ron growled.

"Well the Borg DID pull the time travel card and nearly fucked up first contact."

"That's it. You die," Ron said.

Q let go of his face and his crotch, revealing that he WAS indeed bleeding. "I'm basically god!"

"Didn't stop me from beating the shit out of an Organian back in 82," Ron said.

Riza rose an eyebrow. "Didn't you get third degree burns from that?" She asked.

"Yes. But it was WORTH it. And Ish agreed, remember?" Ron drew his oversharpened sword. "Alright, I'm going to beat the fuck out of you. Then Cobb gets to beat MORE of the fuck out of you."

Q disappeared in a flash of light, his unseen voice saying, "And THIS is why we never showed ourselves to you before Jean-Luc!"

Jaden growled. "I _swear _I am gonna find a way to kill that bastard…" he said. "I _hate _people like Q… and the Organians too."

"He caused the original Captain and the First Officer to commit suicide," said Rella. "Q's pranks drove them to the breaking point, they used their own phasers to disintegrate themselves."

"Well, he's scared of my retaliation now," Ron said. "The Organians learned that making me angry was a BAD idea. They really didn't enforce the treaty after I beat the fuck out of one of them."

"And just for that, you earn a cookie," Joseph said. "So, what in the hell happened while we were in the pocket of torture?"

"Meh, same old same old," Jaden said, shrugging. "Klingons are pissed, war with the Federation…. Oh yeah, and Romulus blew up in a supernova."

"I thought Romulus' star was an overly healthy G-type."

"No, Hobus went supernova. The shockwave blew up Romulus and Remus."

"That makes no sense. Hobus is 30 lightyears from Romulus: there's no way in hell a supernova could travel THAT far and retain so much energy."

"It entered subspace and traveled there a LOT faster."

"…Supernovas don't do that."

"Not naturally, at least," Takeshi said. "Starfleet's got science teams there almost non-stop, looking to see if the Hobus Supernova was an artificial event."

"Yorktown_ to Captain Takeo._"

"What's up, Elisa?"

"_We've got a priority message from Starfleet Command: something about an attack on a research post in the Korvat system._"

Jaden sighed. "Alright, I'll tell the others," he said. "Tell Zarva I want weapons back online ASAP, patch up whatever damage she can." He then turned to Ron. "Ron, we've got trouble - a research post in the Korvat system is under attack."

"I'll get back to the_ Guardian _and head it off: you and Captain Miller will escort the _Indy_ back to Earth. Take, you're with me. We'll find out what's going on before Jaden meets up with us at Korvat."

"Gotcha," Takeshi replied.

Ron and Riza left the briefing room, leaving the others behind in a rush.

"Well Captain Cobb, I guess you'll be following me and Miller back to ESD," Jaden said. "Just follow our lead. "

* * *

**Later - USS _Guardian_**

* * *

The new quantum slipstream drive was coming in handy: 49 lightyears in only five minutes, and that was going to allow them to stop the attack on the research post. "Stand to battlestations: I want anything that isn't Federation dead as soon as soon as we drop out. _Tempest_, you reading me?"

"_I read you, Ron,_" Takeshi replied. "_What's the plan?_"

"Target the smaller ships and leave the larger ones to us. Your ship isn't durable enough to stand toe to toe without my sister at your helm."

"_Hey!_" Takeshi yelled. "_Is that an insult to my piloting skills? There's a _**reason**_ I command from the Helm, you know!_"

"Yet I BEAT you, kid. My sister is a better pilot than you are."

"Dropping out of FTL."

"Time to prove my point. Sonja, enforce structural integrity. Riza."

"You are NOT ordering me to do that."

"I am. Attack Pattern Pinkerton Omega."

"_Alright, let's get this party started,_" Takeshi said. "_Looking forward to seeing just what Riza can do!_"

"Computer, activate manual steering column." A side stick deployed from the console, and Riza took the stick. "Strap in, people!"

Takeshi blinked a bit at that - he knew most ships had a Manual Steering Column - he just had his moved to the center of the helm console, had it constantly deployed, and had a Manual Impulse Throttle installed, too. As far as he knew, he was one of the few people in Starfleet who did that.

"Not again!" The Guardian turned sharply, almost like a ship a tenth the size and mass as it sped toward a gorn ship: a Tuatua-Class cruiser. The ship flipped over and began skidding, firing all of its' phasers at once before firing its' engines at full impulse and firing a full volley of torpedoes.

On the _Tempest_, Linda decided to be blunt. "You could never do that."

"Agreed," Takeshi remarked. "I do admit, she is good. Still, might as well show them what _we_ can do."

The _Raging Tempest_ charged into the enemy formations, spitting out fire at the smaller Gorn ships. His path did take him closer to a _Zilant_-Class Battleship, though - and as he fired his weapons at it, he slightly angled above the enemy ship, so that when they returned fire, they fired at where he **_had been_**, as he used a Micro-Warp Jump similar to what he'd used against the _Guardian_ before, shooting past the _Zilant_ before picking out another target.

The Guardian continued to turn like an escort, tearing into the enemy formations before what was left decided to flee. "We'll transport down to the surface and find out what the fuck is going on down there. We're picking up a number of Gorn lifesigns on the surface."

"_Understood,_" Takeshi replied. "_I'll send Linda down as well, but I'll stay up here, in case of reinforcements._"

"Sonja, Ishmael, we're going down there. Cock and lock, and tell the medical teams to stand by for casualties."

* * *

**Earth spacedock**

* * *

The_ Yorktown_ exited the transwarp conduit alongside the_ Independence_, taking her straight back to the first station of its' kind. "Well, here we are," Jaden said. "Welcome back to Earth, _Independence._"

_"Great to be home," _said Joseph who sighed in relief, _"Starfleet owes me and my crew a large amount of shore leave, after what Q put us through,"_

"They'll probably grant it: you deserve no less." said Jaden before being hailed by the Spacedock.

_"Independence, this is Earth Spacedock: you are clear to dock. Welcome home."_

After returning the gesture, the two ships went to their berths, with the _Independence's _being filled with maintenance crews since even though it had been only four months for the crew, it had been over 20 years for Starfleet.

On the bridge of the _Independence_, Joseph breathed another sigh.

"Rella, have all hands prepare to disembark, once we have permission to get shore leave," he said, and Rella nodded.

"Captain, message from the Dock Master, your presence is requested," said another ensign and Joseph nodded.

"Tell them I'll be right there," he said and stood up from the captain's chair.

* * *

Admiral Quinn stood in the hatch, waiting for Commander Cobb to arrive. The hatch opened, and the commander was surprised to see him. "Commander. Welcome back to Earth Spacedock. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Joseph stood at attention as he entered. "Sir, I'm just glad we're home sir. I have already written up a report on what happened to us, as well as the condolence letters to the Captain and First officer's families," he said as he handed over three data pads.

"Let me guess… Q."

"Captain Pinkerton sent a transmission, didn't he?"

"He did. This is the second time he's injured a godlike being: the Organians don't like him. But your ship needs a new captain. And one HELL of a refit."

Joseph nodded at that, while sighing tiredly. "Yeah, I noticed that the ships in this Spacedock are more… advanced," he said. "And I hope the captain you pick for the Big 'I' has a strong mentality, concerning the Q. The crew can also use a shore leave, sir. A LONG Shore leave."

"Not to worry. I already have a candidate in mind," the Admiral said with a smirk, while Joseph blinked

"Who?" he asked.

"You."

Joseph froze in place at that. "Say what?"

"You've dealt with a stressful situation far better than anyone would expect. And your crew won't accept a stranger. You are THE best choice. But you will be spending a great deal of time relaxing. You've been through a LOT, recently."

Joseph could only blink a few more times, before he finally spoke, "I… It's an honor sir. Though I feel like I don't deserve it," he said and the Admiral just placed his hand on the Lieutenant Commander's shoulder.

"You do, and don't tell yourself otherwise," the Admiral said, "In the meantime, have yourself and the crew head down to Earth. Relax and try to get in contact with your families, I'm sure they'll be happy to know their loved ones are alive safe. You're dismissed… Captain."

Joseph didn't say anything, except salute. "A-Aye Admiral," he said, before turning and heading out of the office.

"I suggest reading up on the new regs for uniforms. You're being given more latitude towards uniforms, but remember to wear Starfleet issue uniforms, regardless of era. For now, though, get some rest."

Joseph stopped, before turning and answering, "Understood, sir," he said and walked out of the office, leaving the Admiral to himself. He sighed as he looked at the three datapads, two with the condolence letters, and Joseph's report.

He placed the three devices on his desk and headed to a comm. screen, needing to make a few calls with certain people.

"Computer, access communications relay."

"Specify contacts."

"Ambassador Jean-Luc Picard and Admiral Kathryn Janeway." A shrill beep was his response.

_"Unable to comply_."

Quinn blinked at that, "Why not?"

"_Admiral Janeway is on classified duties. Ambassador Picard is unavailable_."

Quinn groaned at that, "Computer, record message and then send to their personal comms when available," he said while the computer beeped again.

_"Acknowledged…" _the computer replied, _"Begin message,"_

"This is Admiral Jorel Quinn, head of Starfleet operations. The USS Independence, which disappeared 30 years ago, has returned. Information provided by the crew indicate the being known as Q was involved in the disappearance and subsequent reappearance of the ship. Please advise." He tapped the monitor, ending the message. It probably wouldn't do any good: the Q Continuum wasn't something Starfleet could fight. Besides, they had bigger problems. The Klingons, Romulans and God knew what else.

"Don't forget Remnants of the Borg Collective, my dear Admiral," a flash of light appeared and Quinn groaned.

"I hope you're not here to give me grief like your other counterparts," he said and turned toward a middle aged woman who only gave a small smile.

"Don't worry Jorel, unlike my… _brother_, I don't pull pranks and take my role as Q seriously," the woman said. "You can rest assured that He will given a _severe _talking to,"

"Please tell me that the Continuum's not going to screw with us now."

"We have no intention, Admiral. We'll stay out of the pithy affairs of you mortals." Quinn raised an eyebrow. "It's a turn of phrase. We actually owe you for ending that pointless civil war, so we're not going to make your lives difficult."

The Trill sighed in relief before pausing. "Brother? Are you related to the Q that toyed with the Enterprise-D and Voyager, or his son?"

"The former, dear Admiral. Although, his son is quite the mischievous little fox himself," she said before groaning. "Anyway, I should go back. Just here to give you the news that they won't bother you anymore. Good day, Jorel!"

And with another flash, the woman was gone, while Jorel blinked before sighing again.

"I need a vacation… a LONG vacation," he said and sat back into the chair.

* * *

**H'atoria system**

* * *

The _Raging Tempest_ and _Guardian_ had warped into the H'atoria system following a Klingon follow-up attack on Korvat, and had slipped quietly through Klingon patrols to get into transporter range. Now, both ships were preparing landing teams to assault a Klingon Research Post.

"I want a fully armed landing party. If the Gorn are involved, that means one thing: magnums."

The entire crew groaned at the mention of those things. "Magnums aren't combat weapons, Ron: you know that!"

"They pack enough of a punch to get through that thick Gorn hide, and if the Klingons are dicking around with genetic engineering, phasers will be near useless. Pistols only, and pack enough for two teams. We'll need to arm the _Tempest_'s landing parties."

"Lethal force isn't something Starfleet does."

"WE use lethal force. Contact the _Tempest_ and inform them to prepare to receive a supply shipment."

* * *

"Message from the _Guardian_, Captain," Rina informed. "They're wanting us to prepare for a supply shipment. Any idea what that means?"

"Likely they're sending us something they think we need," Takeshi remarked, before activating the comm to the Transporter Room. "Linda, don't beam down just yet - Ron's sending something over."

"_Understood,_" Linda replied.

* * *

In the room, a large crate was beamed in, and Linda opened it. It contained a number of pistols, all modelled after the Colt 1911A1, but upsized and clearly strengthened for a larger bullet.

"Jeez, what's with the ancient slugthrowers?" one of her team asked.

"I think he's potentially overestimating the thickness of Gorn hides," Linda replied. "Takeshi, the shipment was a crate of old 20th-century pistols, but heavily modified. I think Ron's being overly paranoid."

Takeshi sighed over the comms. "_Distribute them to your team, but bring your standard weapons, too,_" he said. "_I've been getting an odd feeling about this, so better to be prepared for any eventuality._"

"Right," Linda replied. She passed pistols to each of her other team members, and took one herself, though she still planned to rely on her TR-116B.

The rounds were chambered for 12.7mm. And only one magazine-fed pistol round was 12.7mm: the .50 Action Express.

"Overkill," said another team member. "This gun's built to take down elephants, not Gorn!"

"If the man's sending us guns in this caliber, the Gorn might be genetically engineered," the medic assigned them by Mogire informed. "They did take supplies from a medical post."

"We don't know if they're genetically engineered or not," Linda replied. "Take the pistols anyway. Remember Maxim 37."

"'There is no "Overkill". There is only "Open Fire" and "I need to Reload",'" the rest of the team chorused.

"Guardian_ to _Raging Tempest_: either get on the damn pad, or I beam you down there using MY transporter. And believe me, you don't want me doing that._"

"_Oh?_" Takeshi asked from the Bridge.

"_Let's just say I picked up a trick or three from an incident in '83._"

Linda stepped onto the transporter after removing the crate, followed by the rest of her team. "We're ready to beam down," she announced.

The team transported down into a snowstorm, right in front of three-white coat-wearing Starfleet officers. "In Soviet Russia, FUCK IT'S COLD!"

"Brother, you are going to be the end of us. I presume you've got the handguns, Commander? We've dealt with genetically enhanced Gorn before, and these were the only things that worked."

"We do," Linda replied. "We've also got our standard weapons, as well, just in case they're needed - Maxim 37, after all."

"Riza, Linda, go on ahead, take out any patrols. Show the newbie how to snipe."

Riza pulled out an antiquated rifle with a simple scope. "Come on, kid. Let me show you how it's done."

"Alright," Linda said as she followed Riza. "And I'll show you how the TR-116 performs - one of the few Projectile weapons we actually have, it's a sniper's dream rifle."

Pinkerton the younger scoffed. "Quadruple stabilization, 8x scope, a transporter system and lack of recoil? It's not a sniper's dream: it's a nightmare." Riza laid down in the snow overlooking a path leading into the main base. "THIS is a sniper's dream." She shouldered the wooden-stocked rifle, looking through the simple scope before taking aim and pulling the trigger, taking down a Klingon guard. She quickly worked the action, then took aim and fired again, faster than Linda could with the 116B. Five rounds, five dead Klingon guards, in less than 9 seconds. "THIS is the Mosin-Nagant M1895 bolt action rifle. For 5 decades, this thing served the Russian Empire and Soviet Union as their long rifle. THIS is a sniper's weapon. That thing? That's an overly complicated nightmare for maintenance."

"The transporter system means almost zero transit time from bullet to target," Linda replied, demonstrating as she sighted in, pulled the trigger, and almost instantly another guard dropped as she quickly reoriented on her next target. "The only reason I'd need LOS on a target is to see where I'm aiming, and with a spotter close to the target I don't even need that - I could shoot through WALLS with this thing. And I don't need to account for the effects of gravity like I would on that _museum piece_."

"You're lazy."

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"Point and shoot. With this, you need to think. Try it. But then again, that's not a sniper rifle. It's a DMR. you're not a sniper: you're a fucking designated marksman."

Linda bristled at this, before she spotted a guard beginning to move towards the other side of a building. "I'll show you just what I've got!" she said, adjusting her aim to at the building wall as she quickly typed in range numbers. "Here's a shot you wouldn't even **_dream_** of making with that antique!" The guard passed out of sight, and a second later, Linda pulled the trigger, expecting the guard to fall back into view with a hole in his head.

Instead, a disruptor bolt came at her, and while it missed her body, it hit the TR-116B, destroying the barrel, magazine, and scope. "Amateur." Riza let out a breath, took aim at the attacker, and fired another 7.62mm round down range, causing a sizable hole in the counter-sniper's head.

Linda was beginning to freak out, as she was without her trusty 116B for the first time in years. "They jammed the transporter signal, and traced it back to you. So, what was that about your weapon being better?" Linda turned to snap at her, but instead she got a riflebutt to the face. "Get your head in the game, and start learning! The Academy's training regime made you over-reliant on your fancy targeting systems and stabilizers. I learned using a fucking unrifled MUSKET. WITHOUT a scope. If my brother has to beat the lazy out of every Starfleet officer he runs into, I will gladly help! STARTING WITH YOU!" Riza dropped the rifle into Linda's lap, along with all the ammunition. "Here. I might be the best shot on board my ship, but I am not a long-range person. I'm a bruiser. I get up close and make your life suck. Learn to snipe, _newb_."

Linda went to retort, hesitated, then sighed as she took up the rifle. "We don't really have a dedicated holodeck on the _Raging Tempest_, or a firing range," she admitted. "The ship's too small - best I can do for regular practice is a simulator mode on the TR-116. I use what opportunities I get to practice more properly in holodecks at whatever port of call we're at, but that's still not that often. I suppose I could get Matt to reconfigure one of our few cargo bays into a firing range for this thing…" Even as she said that, though, she picked up the rifle, set it up like Riza had, and began looking through the scope.

"You are lazy." Riza walked away, scoffing at Linda. The married woman supposed she had a point and a right. After all, Riza not only used an older rifle, she was a better shot as she had to adjust for gravity, range, and loss of velocity. Linda never had to deal with that. No one did. In short, Linda had been cheating. Riza and the Ptolemaeus crew? Polar opposite. All of their weapons were nearly the same as their originals, sans more durable materials and tritanium-cored ammo: no stabilization technology, no enhanced scopes, no transporters.

"I guess I have a fair bit to learn…" she muttered, as she aimed at another guard, adjusted her aim the best she could, considering this would be her first time firing this weapon and she was mainly using guesswork, and pulled the trigger.

She missed, the round going past the Klingon's head. "Damn it!" She pulled the trigger again, but the weapon didn't work. She resisted the urge to facepalm. "Right… antique weapon… manual loading…" She recalled the actions Riza had done to set the weapon up again, and repeated them as best as she remembered before adjusting her aim slightly and firing again.

Another fire, another miss. "Damn it!"

"_Pinkerton to sniper team: report! Riza, what the hell? Your shots aren't hitting the target: what the fuck is going on?_"

"Sniper to Pinkerton," Linda replied. "Sorry about that - lost my weapon to counter-sniper fire, so your sister gave me hers and headed off, apparently to get in close." She made another aim adjustment. "It's… taking a little getting used to." She fired again, **_finally_** hitting the target with her third shot.

"_…That's it. After this, you ALL get the _Exeter_ treatment. STARTING with you._"

"I take it that's not a good thing."

"_Good for me. Not good for you._"

She gulped. "Well, at least I'm starting to get the hang of this thing," she said, sighting in on the next target, making the adjustments she had figured out through trial and error, before firing again, once again hitting the target.

"Starting to figure out why the 20th and 21st centuries were the heyday of the marksman." Another bullet missed the mark, and Linda worked the Nagant action for a sixth time before pulling the trigger. Click. No boom. She sighed. Empty. "You'd think they'd make the magazines for these things a bit larger…" she muttered, as she tried to figure out how to remove the old magazine to put in a new one.

She looked at the spare ammo. "Striper clips?! Who the hell designed this thing?!"

"_A better man than you, clearly._"

Linda snarled at the continued insults, before pulling the bolt back, finding a way to shove the bullets into the magazine, then working the action once again. "Antique piece of SHIT!" Hell hath no fury like a DM scorned.

* * *

**Meanwhile - USS _Yorktown_**

* * *

"Dropping out of warp, Captain." Potter said, as the _Yorktown _slowed out of warp as it appeared at the H'atoria system.

"'Bout time… " Jaden said. "Where's the _Guardian _and _Raging Tempest?_"

"In high orbit, keeping away from the Klingon patrols." T'Vrell said. "Message incoming from the _Tempest_: teams on the ground."

"Then let's get some of our teams down there," Jaden said. "I want an away team down there, tell them to use the weapons in Armory C."

T'Vrell rose an eyebrow at that. "What's in Armory C?" she asked, as Jaden grinned.

"Oh, a friend of mine in Starfleet has been making new weapons and such, and while we were at Earth she beamed some onboard for… further testing," he said. "Ron's not the only one who likes Sci-Fi weapons from the 21st Century. Also tell them the armor is _very _effective as well."

"Understood. Message sent."

* * *

**H'atoria research labs**

* * *

Linda continued to struggle with the old Russian rifle, but the_ Ptolemaeus_ crew had no such issues with their older weapons. "I have no idea how you do this," she said.

"My crew actually spent six months in the early 21st century. 2016, to be exact. As long as we did nothing to fuck over the timeline, I allowed them to head down to the surface. We had one hell of a time."

She sighed. Well, once she got back to the ship, she could see about getting a new rifle - not another TR-116B, but something possibly based on old Sniper Rifles. But she would ask Matt to make some modifications - no artificial stabilizers, but perhaps a scope that could help adjust for wind and gravity, so she didn't have to manually correct every time she fired.

A roar was heard as a genetically mutated Gorn stomped over. The security chief had no idea how the hell she was going to take that 10 foot tall freak down: the hide had to be at LEAST 4 centimeters deep.

"Your weapon, Commander." Ron grabbed the Nagant, shouldering the weapon as he looked through the simple scope.

'_There is no way he can do anything to kill that thing,_' Linda thought as the brute charged, and Ron simply let out a breath before pulling the trigger, reducing any movement to make the shot as accurate as possible. The bang was loud enough to make her ears bleed, but the Gorn had bigger problems as it keeled over, drooling from its' mouth and bleeding from its' head. "But… how?! The skin's too thick to peirce, and the bones have to be harder than steel!"

"I wasn't aiming for his head." The captain kicked the Gorn in the head, showing off the target. Linda was close to fainting. The bastard. Shot it. In the eye. "It takes a very good shot to hit the eye of an organic being on the move. You wouldn't've been able to make that shot in the 116B."

"Not without a whole lot of luck," Linda agreed.

"And that is why I'm going to kick your ass later." He worked the action, reloading the weapon in less than two and a half seconds before tossing it back into her hands.

"Guardian_ to away teams._"

Ron pulled out his communicator. "Pinkerton here."

"_The _Yorktown_ just arrived in orbit. Captain Takeo is prepared to beam down to your position._"

"Lock onto our location and have him sent down." Ron said. "after that, throw a net over all transporter activity."

"_Understood - They're coming down now._"

Several pillars of light appeared before them, as Jaden and his away team beamed down before them. However Ron noticed that they weren't wearing the standard Starfleet Uniforms, instead they were wearing grey body armors with helmets on, each holding rather sizable rifles in their hands, some looking as if they had underslung shotguns or grenade launchers attached. However each set of armor still had the Starfleet insignia badges on their chests.

"Sorry we were late Ron, trip took a bit longer than we thought it would, and had to pick up some equipment." Jaden said.

"I've noticed." Ron said. "Looks like an upgraded version of 23rd century security armor. You've seen them."

"Yeah, Grampa Ish showed me once."

The former _Ptolemaeus_ captain handed Jaden one of the magnums. "Here," he said. "Aim near the neck: they have thinner skin there. The bullets should bounce around inside the body enough to kill the damn things."

"Thanks, but we already took that into account when we came down here." Jaden said hosting the Magnum. "Guns are chambered with 7.62mm Rounds, plus we've got Grenade Launchers on most our guns too - more than enough to take down your average Gorn. "

Ron pointed at the Nagant in Linda's hands. Jaden got the idea: the 7.62mm rounds might not be enough. "Try to make your shots go into their eye sockets: there is zero protection there. The bullet'll bounce around inside the fucking thing's skull and liquify the brain."

"Shoot 'em in the eyes, got it," Jaden said, glancing back at his away team members. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on you apes! You wanna live forever?!"

The three teams moved into facility, sweeping and looking for Gorn. Most of the enemy were on the ground, dying. "And this is why genetic engineering is illegal."

"But why should it?!" A bald man in the next room over, standing above them on a large platform, sealed them into the chamber. "I am Amar Singh. I am the future of life in this galaxy. And you are the next generation of the second so-called 'power trio'."

"Wait… did he just say 'Singh'?" Jaden asked, "As in… Khan Noonian Singh?"

"I would like to say I am the descendant of-"

"KHAAAANNN!" All looked towards Ron, who was smiling like a loon. "Sorry. I heard about what happened during the Genesis Incident. I've always wanted to do that."

"…So I see. Perhaps your DNA will come in handy." He pressed a button on a console. "Kill them, but try to keep them intact."

A pair of massive Gorn were released from their holding cells. "Kill… For master?"

"Aw, fuck me."

"Fuck off." Jaden shouted, as he raised his Assault Rifle, and fired off a Grenade at the first Gorn, hitting it square in the head where the eye was, blasting a massive chunk from its head and brain, causing the Gorn to collapse dead.

"Well, that was unexpect- " A throwing knife impacted Singh's jacket, followed by a VERY large number of knives, all pinning him to a nearby wall. One last knife ended up VERY close to something… important. Jaden stared at the knife-thrower in shock. "How in the hell-"

"Let's just say my Chief Engineer isn't exactly… normal."

"Huh… and I thought my sister was damn good with knives…" Jaden said.

"LET ME DOWN!"

Sonja pulled out ANOTHER throwing knife, causing them all to wonder where the hell she was keeping them. "I'll let you down. IN HELL!" She threw the sharp object at the wall, VERY close to Singh's head. He passed out in fear.

"_Guardian_, get us out of here."

"With pleasure, Captain. Lifting interference field and energizing."

* * *

**3 hours later - USS _Yorktown_ ready room**

* * *

"_You've done exemplary work, Captain. Starfleet Intelligence, however, has another assignment for you._"

"Oh joyous day," Jaden said with a slight groan. "What now?"

A map appeared on his monitor before Quinn continued. "_The Klingons have something going on in the Donia system. A large number of transmissions are going in and out of that place, all encrypted. I would send someone else, but as you've quickly proven, you are the best for the job. I'm sorry that I have to ask you to do this, as you need some R&amp;R, but-_"

Jaden sighed. "Yeah, fine, we'll be right there Admiral," he said. "It's not like I have a _choice _when it comes to these things."

"_You were requested by STIG, Captain. And they report to the President. That means even I had no choice. I was going to pass this along to Captain Pinkerton alone, but they want all of you. Starfleet Command out._" The transmission ended abruptly.

Jaden shook his head. "Times like these… I hate being the best at our job…" he muttered.

* * *

"Starfleet Technical Intelligence Group. Clever. But not good enough: I know Sanjuichi's tentacles when I see them." The other captains on the conference call were confused by the title.

Jessica blinked. "_Okay… Not even gonna ask on that one…_" she muttered. "_But that aside, we're all being roped into something big, right?_"

"The millisecond Sanjuichi got involved. Those fuckers cost me my ship in '85."

"_Sanjuichi…_" Takeshi muttered. "_That's 'thirty-one' in Japanese… you referring to Section 31, Ron?_"

"The same," Ron said. "They are the reason most of my record is redacted. I performed a LOT of covert operations for the bastards."

"And now, _we're _getting dragged along for the ride…" Jaden said. "Why can't there be more people like us, who can do this shit just as effectively as we can? 'Cause the fact we're almost ALWAYS the ones they call for these things is starting to get piss me off…"

"Now you know how I feel. But Sanjuichi knows better than to call us more than once a month."

"You mean they know better than to call YOU."

"Potato, potahto, Captain. Besides, I have it on good authority that we're going on vacation after this."

"Well, at least we'll have SOME R&amp;R after this…" Jaden muttered. "So how shall we proceed?"

"We'll enter the system as stealthily as possible: the _Raging Tempest_ actually HAS a cloaking device, so they'll head in and distract the Klinks. Then we'll move in and support them. Don't do anything stupid, Takeshi. If I have to find a way into the afterlife to kick your ass, it will NOT be pleasant. Might be for me. Won't be for you."

"_Understood,_" Takeshi replied. "_Also, I heard about what happened with Linda down there - she's already getting help from Matt on a new rifle._"

"Worry about that later: you have something bigger to worry about. Try not to destroy anything."

* * *

**Donia system**

* * *

Five _B'rel_-Class raiders sat in their births, guarded by a single _Vor'cha_-Class attack cruiser. The IKS _Targ_ was preparing to leave her berth as a ship decloaked, leveling bursts of phaser pulses at it, breaching the hull and severing one of the nacelles.

Takeshi refrained from fully destroying the ship - according to the brief, they had an intelligence asset onboard. Instead, after ensuring the _Targ_ was disabled, he adjusted his aim to the next ship in dock.

"One attack cruiser disabled, and one Raider down," Takeshi remarked. "What IS the plan, exactly? Did Command give us any details?"

"Nothing beyond 'disable the ships and take them over'," Rina replied.

Takeshi sighed. "Maxim 53 at its finest," he muttered. "The intel you've got is never the intel you want."

The _Yorktown_ and _Guardian_ entered the area, putting a tractor beam on the Targ. "_You REALLY need to learn restraint, Takeshi. Shirou wasn't this bad._"

Following behind them was the _Liberator,_ keeping an eye on the _Targ_ from the rear in case anything or any_one_ tried to intervene.

"_Jaden, send over a team to the _Targ_: she's yours now. Takeshi, I'll head over to your next target. After that, Miller. The last one is yours for the taking._"

"_Understood!_" Jessica said.

"On it," Takeshi informed.

The two ships moved in tandem, downing the shields and sending over boarding parties.

* * *

The takeovers were mostly uneventful. The 'interview' of a Klingon First Officer named K'valk who had been thrown in the brig, on the other hand… "No. No way. No. FUCKING. Way. ONE of those things was ENOUGH! It took blowing up a _Connie_ to stop that thing the LAST time!"

The sight that Ron was talking about, sitting before them was a colossal vessel with a cone-like shape and what looked like a gaping maw for a mouth glowing red.

"That… is the Doomsday Machine Captain Kirk encountered, isn't it?" Jaden asked.

Ron shook his head. "No. THAT thing is at the Boneyard near Pluto. THIS one… is new."

"Agents from the future gave the empire the information to find this monstrosity, in return for their loyalty two centuries ago. We took their information and spat in their faces: we obey no one but our hearts!"

"Ok, then WHY inform us, K'valk?" Ron asked. "You're Klingon. Contacting Starfleet about this is tantamount to treason."

K'valk glared at Ron. "You know much of our ways, yet you fail to understand that this machine is without honor." He said. "B'vat will use this to kill those who cannot fight back."

"Which is beyond monstrous," Ron said, nodding. "It is without honor."

"So… how do we kill it?" Jaden asked, "I'd rather _not _ram my ship into that thing's mouth unless we have to."

"You have encountered a weapon that was used against your ship before: the Hargh'peng torpedo. It was designed to defeat the planet killer."

Ron scoffed. "You can't penetrate neutronium without the energy from… Well, it's not possible."

"It wasn't made to defeat the doomsday machine by going through the hull, Windstorm."

"Oh, HELL no. You don't mean we have to fire those things down the fucking thing's throat, do you?"

"That'll require pinpoint accuracy, precision timing, and a lot of speed and maneuverability," Takeshi remarked. "I think I can do something like that."

K'valk pointed at the planet in the Imaga system that the horn 'o doom was in. "We must disable the device on the ground controlling it, as well as the communications system that operates it."

"And after that, we shove torpedoes down the horn 'o plenty's throat like there's no tomorrow. Simple plan. Not so simple to do."

"If we can get some of those torpedoes loaded onto my ship, I can cloak and head to Imaga and wait," Takeshi informed. "I'll stay on the fringes of the system until you take down that thing's control systems, and any other surprises B'Vat may have."

K'valk shook his head. "The entire system has a defense grid that uses a device like the Breen energy dampening weapon: only Klingon ships can enter the system."

Ron smacked Takeshi upside the head. "Why the hell do you think I'm giving the order to take these shitboxes, rather then strip them of the torpedoes and rush to Imaga? I've dealt with shit like this before."

"Well… if only Klingon ships can enter the system… let's use a Klingon ship then," Jaden said shrugging. "The _Targ _had only suffered minimal damage, with a bit of work we can get her back to 100%. We could load her up with the Hargh'peng Torpedoes, and take her down that way."

"The other raiders are intact. We'll use them as escorts for the Targ. If this planetkiller is like the other one, we'll need more then one ship to distract it for the torpedoes to kill it."

"I will go on the _Targ_, and assist Takeo."

"Alright, this looks like a decent plan," Takeshi remarked. Privately, he thought, '_though I'll still send one of those Hargh'Pengs to Matt, see if he can reverse-engineer it._'

"The ground teams will wear holographic emitters to get to the facility." K'valk nodded, saluting by placing an arm on his chest.

* * *

**Imaga system**

* * *

The four birds of prey had dealt with defense drones before shutting down the defense grid. "They upgraded the security after I sent my message. Captain, we must land immediately and disable the planetkiller before B'Vat dishonors the Empire any further then he has already!"

"Yeah, just trying to not look suspicious…" Jaden said, as the _Targ _continued forward. "Just fly casual…"

"No sign of resistance besides the security drones. I think we're in the clear. Vectoring wings for landing sequence." Like a bird in flight, the B'rel's wings rose to an upward angle, like a gliding falcon. "We'll set down and then we'll destroy what needs destroying."

"Vulcan, your cavalier attitude towards this is not amusing in the slightest."

T'vrell sent a very Vulcan look K'valk's way. "We have destroyed planet killers before. We will do so again. It is that simple."

The Klingon was not pleased with that assertion, but the _Targ_ was on her way to the ground, regardless.

* * *

"Man. This is not what I had expected!" Tony muttered as he adjusted the BoP's wings. The ship, while useful in many ways, was still a far cry from the _Liberator_. (As a precaution, every one of Jessica's bridge crew was taught and trained on how to fly the _Avenger_-class in case the helmsman or anyone else got wounded or KIA. So they all knew how the ship handled.) "The _Liberator_ handles better in some ways, I think."

"Either way, we got ourselves a big cone-shaped menace to deal with," Jessica said. "So just follow the others. When the time's right, alert the rest." As a secondary plan, Jessica had insisted the _Liberator_ follow in stealth, and she hoped that it wasn't needed. But if it was, then they had something else to fall back on.

Tony nodded. "Right." The only problem with her plan was that the dampening system left the _Avenger_-class vulnerable, so she was currently hiding someplace close by, just out of the base's range. As the _Targ_ descended, Jessica's BoP circled back around and the vessel rejoined the others for the riskiest part of the mission.

* * *

"You look ridiculous."

The smile on the CO's face was enough to kill someone. But WHY did he have to wear that idiotic hat?

"We're in a ship that, more or less, hunts through an ocean of stars. It fits." Ron was wearing a gray hat that had what looked like a shark's dorsal fin on it. He looked like an idiot. His crew said as much.

Sonja shook her head as Ishmael (Riza broke the last BoP she flew) kept the B'rel in orbit.

"You're not a-" Rapid warning alarms were heard from the sensors post. "Subspace jamming field, massive power signature, and… neutronium hull."

"It's baaaaaack. Red alert." Klingon alarms blared throughout the ship, as the _Targ_ ascended from the ground. "Report."

"We took care of the controls for the grid and the planetkiller: call the fleet in." The neutronium-hulled horn o' plenty fired its' antiproton beam at a moon, blasting it apart for a simple reason: fuel.

"Son of a bitch!"

"I faced that thing's brother back in 68: I'm not in the mood to see this one eat an entire solar system again!"

A shuttle took off from the Targ, heading for the planetkiller. "Stay where you are, Starfleet. I will handle this."

"K'valk, are you an IDIOT?! That won't do anything!"

"My life is nothing, but my honor...No, Captain. I must do this." The Klingon began singing as the shuttle made a suicide run at the planetkiller's maw at full impulse, being destroyed on impact. "Well, he pulled a Decker: equally pointless death."

* * *

**IKS _Targ_**

* * *

"Goddamnit, I TOLD YOU TO STOP HIM!" Jaden shouted on the comm.

"_We tried to, but he locked down the shuttle bay!_" the security team said. "_By the time we bypassed the lock, he was gone!_"

Jaden groaned. "Alright, alright… just get back to your positions." He said, before he switched the comm to Ron's ship. "Ron, let's hurry up so we can blow this fucking thing to smithereens."

"Commence attack pattern KILL IT WITH FIRE!" A brief laugh was heard from all parties before the B'rels approached the planetkiller as a fleet of Federation starships and another of Klingon warships warped in, firing everything they had at each other. "Arm the torpedoes and shove them down the fucker's throat!" The four-ship flight fired their disruptor cannons at the planetkiller, attempting and succeeding in getting its' attention. "FIRE!"

Takeshi was the first to fire his torpedo, and bank away quickly, getting out of range of its antiproton beam. The other three followed suit seconds later, as four of the Hargh'Peng Torpedoes went into its vulnerable maw.

"All right!" Jessica shouted as she fired her torps. The BoP blasted out of there not a moment later.

The HoS, under Lelouch's direction, was third in line, firing off another Hargh'peng torpedo into the maw. "Captain, finish it!"

"_Fatality, motherfucker!_" The final B'rel, under Ron's command, fired off the last torpedo, which entered the maw… and finished the planet killer. It destroyed all of the internal equipment, making it little more than a massive paperweight, as neutronium was indestructible.

"And scratch one planetkiller," Jaden said with a smirk. "Now, let's get the HELL out of here before anymore Klingons show up!"

"Sir, we're receiving a transmission-"

A scarred klingon face appeared on the screen, interrupting VanZyl. "_Jaden Takeo, I am K'men, of Klingon Intelligence. I must request that you return those ships to us. We have fought enough for one day. Another battle is pointless. Even the Windstorm will agree_."

"And what about B'vat?"

"_He faces discommendation for his honorless warmongering. Any action he takes is not with the blessing of the High Council_."

Jaden sighed as he stood up. "Alright, well I guess its time to head back to our ships. Bout time," he said. "As much as I love Klingon design, I just prefer the _Yorktown._"

"_Gotta agree. The _Liberator_'s more my type of ship anyway,_" Jessica said over the comm. "_But these BoPs do give me an idea for future ship designs. If we ever get that far._"

The four ships that they commanded were part of the armada, and as such, they quickly transported back to their real commands.

* * *

**USS _Guardian_**

* * *

"The _Ptolemaeus_' actual refit is complete, and I am REALLY tired of this ship. We're going back to Earth."

"Oh, COME ON, Boss! We haven't had a vacation in what, since we got back?!"

Ron glared at Sonja. "We're going to spend a week in orbit of that hellhole as soon as I get my ship back. It's an 8 hour delay."

"You hate vacation planets. I guess that playground turned you off them."

"YOU try spending a full 24 hours listening to a little girl that you NEVER want to see in real life. Riza, Earth. NOW."

* * *

**USS _Yorktown_**

* * *

"He's going back to Earth?" Potter asked.

"Who cares? We're going to Risa!" T'Vrell shouted, pumping her fists into the air. "Beaches, sweet sweet beaches!"

"We NEED a vacation after all this…" Jaden said nodding. "Potter - set course for Risa!"

The _Yorktown_, _Raging Tempest_, _Escalvantine_, and _Liberator_ all jumped to warp, heading for the vacation planet in question. Then the dreaded sound of the communications console sending out a signal was heard.

"No. No, no no no no. We JUST got finished!"

"It's a distress call from the USS _Kirk_: they say they're under attack from a Klingon task force. They've lost shields and they're being boarded."

"_Dammit,_" Takeshi muttered over the comms. "_Murphy's Law: Emergencies always strike when you're about to go on vacation!_"

And Ron was en route back to Earth. Using quantum freaking slipstream, no less. They were on their own for this one. But then again, this could also be used as a sign that they didn't need the fleet killer to serve as their safety blanket.

"_So now what? We go and rescue them?_" Jessica asked.

Jaden growled. "Goddamnit… Potter, re-set the course," he said. "Let's finish this up quickly. We take care of the Klingons, help the _Kirk_ get back to a starbase, then we head to Risa!"

* * *

**JFS47**

* * *

The _Exeter_-Class heavy cruiser shuddered under another disruptor cannon bolt hitting the primary hull, breaching the hull in that section. The ultimate successor to the _Constitution_ wasn't holding as well as her elders, but she was holding as best she could under a _Vor'cha_-Class attack cruiser and a full squadron of _Ning'tao_-class raiders. The _Vor'cha_ got a nasty surprise, however, as phaser cannon fire hit it from behind, coming from a _Sao Paulo_-Class escort and an _Avenger_-Class battlecruiser.

The _Avenger_ peeled around to the right, blasting back with her phasers at full power, followed up by a torp barrage, vanishing under cloak a moment later. The captain apparently had something planned, because a few minutes after the ship vanished four beams of cannon fire struck the _Vor'cha_ from the sides, apparently from nowhere. Then the _Avenger _emerged, behind the other ship, hitting it from the rear again, forcing the shields in that sector to drop more.

The _Sao Paulo_ struck next, a volley of phaser cannon fire tearing through the _Vor'cha_'s hull, before it angled and unleashed another barrage, this time on a _Ning'tao_, and with a volley of Quantum Torpedoes added into the mix, shredding the Bird of Prey's Shields and Hull like they weren't even there.

"This is Captain Takeo of the USS _Yorktown_," Jaden shouted, as the _Yorktown _opened fire on a group of B'Rel's, obliterating them. "I'm going to make this as clear as day, since I am pissd off right now since my vancation just got delayed because of YOU ASSHOLES! You retreat _now,_ you'll live. But so help me if you fight me, I'll dish out so much pain both your _ANCESTORS _and _DESCENDANTS _will feel it!"

The Klingons wisely retreated, or at least they regrouped under the flag of an annoyingly familiar _Negh'var_: the _Baj_. "_Takeo! I should be impressed that you're fighting me without the aid of the Windstorm! No matter. I have the Kuvah'magh, and there is nothing you can do to stop me! All ships, destroy them! I have more pressing matters._" The _Baj_ jumped to warp, heading for a world quarantined since 2267: Gateway.

"Oh God. Fucking. DAMNIT!" Jaden shouted. "If there is a God up there, he can officially go ahead and suck it! What is WITH our luck?!"

The Klingons, what was left of the force, attempted to fight them, but the _Armitage_-Class _Escalvantine_ took out the weakened force with a barrage of torpedoes. "_We have to head to Gateway, people: we cannot allow B'vat to make contact with the Guardian of Forever. I hope you recall the LAST time that happened._" They did: a social worker screwed up the timeline and made sure the Nazis won the Second World War. NOT an experience they wanted to repeat.

"_Then let's get there and fast!_" Jessica said as her ship's drones reentered the shuttle bay. "_The sooner we do, the faster we can take the guy down!_"

"_Agreed,_" Takeshi replied as he angled his ship towards the Gateway System. "_Rina, contact Starfleet Command, and get us clearance to beam down, just in case!_"

"_On it, sir!_" Rina replied.

The task force jumped to warp, about to earn a name in history.

* * *

**Gateway system**

* * *

B'vat only had one ship left: the _Baj_. It wouldn't last under fire, as the ship really hadn't been repaired from the last encounter they had with it. As such, the _Yorktown_'s first and only torpedo volley tore the shields down and breached the warp core, destroying the first annoyance for the fleet. "Sir, we have permission to beam down, but we've been ordered not to make contact with the Guardian if at all possible."

"I have a feeling we'll be making contact weather we like it or not." Jaden said as he headed for the transporter room. "We're not leaving until we either have B'Vat in cuffs… or we have his head. I'm not accepting any bullshit today."

"Transporter room, standing by." Jaden and Elisa left the bridge, with T'Vrell on their coattails.

* * *

The surface was dusty and dead, and there was nothing there beside ruins. And only a few hundred meters away was a rocky formation that was the portal known as the Guardian of Forever. And B'vat was shepherding Miral Paris through it.

The four away teams were running as fast as they could towards the formation, Jessica's team heading the pack. "All right! We got him!" Jessica remarked, her cybernetic eye humming a bit as she zoomed in on them.

The two passed through the portal, moments before the Starfleeters arrived. "NO!" Steven roared.

The Guardian lit up to respond. "**_You have questions?_**"

Tony swore loudly as he skidded to a stop. "Shit!"

Takeshi looked up at the portal as they walked next to it. "Where… when did they just go?" he asked.

Jessica gritted her teeth as she approached. "No clue, but something tells me he's got something big planned."

"**_The one you know as Miral Paris has gone into the time before her time. She is the Kuvah'magh, the savior of her people. And your time, all that you know, is gone. Bring the future to the past, or all is lost. _**"

The words sent silent shock reeling through their minds. Everything… was doomed? That couldn't be right! Could it…?

Takeshi, however, realized what exactly it was saying: Everything _was_ doomed… but it could be fixed - and they were the only ones who could fix it. "We have to follow them," he said.

"Wha - are you crazy?" someone else asked.

"No, he's right," Lelouch remarked. "If we just stand here, B'Vat will make changes to the timeline - changes that will destroy everything we know. Our only chance… our only _choice_ is to follow him… and stop him."

"**_You will need your vessels to face the challenges ahead,_**" the Guardian announced. "**_Step through my portal and they shall be returned to you._**"

"Then let's go!" Jessica said, charging through the portal first. Her away team followed, leaping through after her.

Takeshi and his team went through next, followed shortly by Lelouch and his team, leaving Jaden, Elisa, T'Vrell and their team as the last group there.

"Fuck. My. Life…" Jaden muttered as he and his team headed through the portal. "Kirk should've destroyed this thing back in the the 23rd…"

"Uh… Jaden… The Guardian's made of neutronium." T'Vrell said. "We can't destroy it."

"_Nothing _is indestructible," Jaden said. "You just need to apply the proper force… at the very least we need to find a black hole to shove this thing into… "

* * *

**Gateway system, 2270**

* * *

A full fleet of Klingon D7s pounded at a Federation constitution-Class starship, barely in the sensor range of four Federation starships from the future. "We've travelled back to 2270, roughly a month prior to the end of Captain Kirk's five-year mission. I'm picking up a large number of Klingon D7-class cruisers near a Federation starship, _Constitution_-Class."

Jaden sighed. "And let me take a wild guess…" he said. "NCC-1701?"

"It IS the Enterprise." T'Vrell said. "We're picking up a transmission from the ship. Patching it through."

The voice of a legend piped in a moment later. "_Unknown vessels, this is Commander Spock of the USS Enterprise. We are under attack by Klingon vessels and are requesting assistance._"

The _Raging Tempest_ surged ahead without further prompting, and blitzed through a cluster of D7s with a combination of Scatter Volley cannon fire, a Spread of Quantum Torpedoes, and his variant of the Picard Maneuver shooting him past the initial group to blast another set.

The _Liberator_ sped into the fray, speeding past as well before sending something out of the shuttle bay. The four drones fired on one ship, forcing its shields down before the battlecruiser spat out four Photon Torps and blew it up, followed by a barrage of phaser fire that took down three more.

"This is the Federation Starship USS _Yorktown,_" Jaden said on the comm as the Starship moved to protect the _Enterprise._ "I'll keep this short: We're from the future, and that one new Klingon ship is also from the Future and wants to kill the _Enterprise._ I can't tell you anything more than that - Temporal prime directive an all that. Just know we're here to save your asses."

The _Liberator_ clipped a D7, forcing it into a death spiral heading for the _Yorktown_. Double suicide was popular with the Klingons in battle. "Take evasive action!" Before Potter could turn, the D7 took a number of blue orbs to its' primary hull before a blue phaser beam cored the ship and destroyed it. "Uh... thanks, _Enterprise_."

"_That was not us_."

Another_ Constitution_ from that era flew out of the fireball, and jaws hit the deck at the name and registry. USS _Exeter,_ Naval Construction Contract Sixteen-Seventy-Two.

"_What the hell?!_" Jessica was shocked, but she kept quiet about some things. "_Is that…?_"

"Huh… Ron 2270 decided to show up," Jaden said. "I wonder if he'll remember this when we get back to our time…"

"_This is Captain Ronald Pinkerton of the Federation starship _Exeter,_ responding to the_ Enterprise's _distress call. Where the fuck did those ships come from?! And why is one of them a Phase III Connie?!_"

Jaden sighed. "Captain Pinkerton, this is Captain Takeo, USS _Yorktown_ \- long story short, we're from the future," he said. "25th Century to be exact, but a Klingon has come back in time to destroy the _Enterprise._ We followed him thanks to the Guardian of Forever, but right now - we've got Klingon asses to kick, and these fucking assholes have PISSED ME THE RIGHT FUCK OFF!"

"_Second time this month_."

"YOU! PINKERTON! I WILL KILL YOU!" B'vat. He was on a Klingon ship: the IKS _Worvig_, a _Somraw_-class Raptor. The ship made a beeline towards the _Exeter_…

...only for the _Yorktown _to hit it square in the engines with a phaser blast, knocking them out before several more shots took out its weapons. "B'Vat..." Jaden growled. "I have had ENOUGH of your bullshit… you picked the WRONG. FUCKING. DAY. TO MESS WITH ME! "

"_And the rest of us!_" Jessica growled as the four drones from the _Liberator_ hovered around the damaged Klingon vessel, acting as a warning sign to not try anything stupid.

The _Worvig_ engaged its' warp engines, escaping the wrath of the four future Starfleet ships, while the rest of the Klingons cloaked, hiding.

"Follow them! Now!" Jaden shouted. "Captain Pinkerton, I would prefer it if you stayed here with the _Enterprise,_ just in case the Klingons attack her again. We're going hunting for the _Worvig._"

"_I can help deal with any of the Klinks that joined that son of a bitch. I don't have the sensor tech to find them. But YOU do._" The 25th Century Takeo blinked. Ron's deductive skills might've not been in his resume, but he was sharp. D7-Class cruisers were easy to find using a metaphasic sweep.

Jessica's ship recalled its drones and the shuttle bay sealed shut. "_Okay. But remember, we have a mission,_" she said. "_And if there's anything we can do, just let us know!_"

"_We'll follow your lead, Jaden,_" Takeshi said as the _Raging Tempest_ formed up alongside the _Yorktown,_ the _Escalvantine_ close behind.

"Alright, T'Vrell!" Jaden said. "Start a metaphasic sweep - scan the area and coordinate with the _Exeter _to target all of the D7's in the area. Once we target them - open up. Takeshi, I need you to follow the _Worvig,_ we are NOT losing that bastard this time!"

"_And me?_" Jessica asked. "_Want me to follow as well?_"

"_Did the standards drop in your time?_" Ron asked.

"You have NO idea." Jaden muttered.

* * *

**IKS _Worvig_**

* * *

B'vat was holding his head. With Pinkerton heading back to Earth, he thought he could ESCAPE the Windstorm. Instead, his 23rd Century self shows up! "We must avoid him. Pinkerton is dangerous in ANY century." His younger self shook his head. His future self was insane, and needed to be put down.

"Sir! The Federations ships from our time are showing up on sensors!" one of the operators shouted. "And the Windstorm is with them!"

"NO! Battle stations! Get the weapons online-" B'vat froze as he felt the tip of a blade at his neck.

"No." The younger Bvat said. "Prepare to abandon ship. There is no honor in remaining on this ship to die at the hands of the slaughter-master Pinkerton."

The elder B'vat roared before four older-style columns of light appeared on the bridge. Ronald Pinkerton, Shirou and Rin Yamato and Ishmael Takeo appeared from them. "Hello, vaty. Sup?"

Before the older B'vat could say anything, another pair of transporter beams were made, as Jaden and T'Vrell appeared, both with their weapons drawn. "B'Vat - your ass - MINE." Jaden growled, with a look that could kill lesser men.

"Geez Jaden," T'Vrell muttered. "Just because he postponed-"

"T'Vrell, after ALL of the shit we've been through since we graduated, in less than _three months,_ I've been wanting to relax in a nice little vacation," Jaden said. "Then THIS Cockbite comes in, and decides to mess around with the fucking time-space continuum! I have HAD it with this GODDAMNED BULLSHIT!" He then shot his phaser on stun, hitting the older B'vat as he fell to the ground.

"For all our sakes, Starfleeter, kill him," the younger B'vat said. "He deserves to die at the hand of an enemy with some honor."

The younger Ron set his phaser to maximum before shooting the elder B'vat, vaporizing him in a blue flash. "Done." HE said. "Now, get off this ship. BEFORE I let Shirou loose."

"I thought Riza was your personal attack dog," T'Vrell asked, causing Ron to blink.

"Who?"

T'vrell facepalmed. "Temporal Prime Directive," she muttered. "Forget I said anything - we're leaving."

"We'll be leaving now," Jaden said, as he reached for his commbadge, put paused for a moment. "Well, just to be safe… you _may _sometime in the future face some Romulans, and one of their Warbirds might be performing some crazy-ass stunts. My advice: Do NOT destroy it, just disable it."

Ron the younger, as well as his senior staff, was confused, but simply accepted it. "Well, whoever it is, he's no match for Shirou." Ron tapped his older communicator (which Jaden and T'vrell noted was STILL in use in THEIR day) before they disappeared.

"He has no idea about good of a pilot his sister is, does he, Jaden?" T'Vrell asked.

"Hasn't met her yet, how could he?" Jaden said with a light chuckle, "I almost wish we could somehow record their reactions when that day comes… but we need to get out of here."

* * *

**Gateway system - 2409**

* * *

An _Excelsior_-Class starship hovered near a temporal vortex, waiting for its' companions to return from their vital mission. Once they came through, her commander tapped his chair's controls, opening a channel. "Enjoy your trip, kiddies?"

"_Hey Ron - Good to see your back on the _Ptolemaeus_,_" Jaden said with a tired sigh. "_Now… we shall be going back to our vacation now… and I need to take a fucking nap… _"

"Consider this an order, brats: 21 days of service on that hellhole called Risa." Ron said. "And Jaden, thank you. My family was happy to see her the first time. So was I."

A device on Ron's belt began beeping. "Let's get going. Helm, set course for Risa, maximum warp." The fleet entered formation with the elder ship, heading for the vacation world.

* * *

**Titanic X: And another chapter of the rewrite is complete! :D**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yep! We've cleared the Klingon War Arc with the Guardian Episodes, and now we have some time for Rest and Relaxation on Risa. You know what that means… BEACH EPISODE! :D**

**117Jorn: Also meaning… FANSERVICE :D **

**Ron the True Fan: Delta Recruits might have an idea of what Ron's got on him. Don't spoil it for them, STO players.**

**Patriot-112: I'm not actually a Star Trek fan, but I will add a thing or two there, like the _Independence_.**

**Titanic X: Yeah. So, anyway, get ready for some fun in the sun, peeps! XD**

**117Jorn: Until next time…**

**Everyone: JA NE!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: None of us own Star Trek. None of us own Star Trek Online, though Ron, Titanic, Jorn, and Takeshi have Accounts there, and Takeshi Yamato and Ron the True Fan have Lifetime Subscriptions. We only own our OCs and OC-Specific Plotlines. Anything else you may recognize is the property of its respective owner.

* * *

**Chapter 4: R&amp;R**

* * *

**Risa System**

* * *

_Captain's Log, Stardate 86057. After that mess with the Guardian of Forever, finally dealing with B'Vat, and recovering Lieutenant Miral Paris (whose DNA was apparently what was needed to finally begin undoing the damage the Augment Virus had done to them back in the 22nd Century [Who knew?]), we're now _finally_ at Risa, where we can enjoy some well-deserved shore leave._

_I have to admit, I always enjoy any chance I can get to see Linda in a swimsuit - and after hearing about what happened between Jaden and T'Vrell earlier, I wouldn't be surprised if he's looking forward to seeing _her_ in one, too…_

* * *

Risa was a rain-soaked, earthquake-ridden planet. At least, it would be without the weather control system and the seismic stabilizers. With them, it was paradise. A paradise that the _Ptolemaeus_ crew… were not taking part of. When asked, Sonja simply said 'ask Ron about it'. And with him locking himself in his quarters, that was nigh-impossible.

"_FINALLY,_" Jaden cheered out, as the respective bridge crews of the _Yorktown, Tempest _and _Liberator_ had taken a shuttle down to the planet, and were now standing before one of the more private beaches, with few other people around. "It's been _forever _since I've been here!"

"I can't believe your parents rented out the whole beach…" T'Vrell muttered.

"My family's got a LOT of pull here," Jaden said grinning, "They just want to make sure our vacation goes on _without _any incidents… so while we are here: NO. TEMPTING. MURPHY. Are we clear?"

"Very," Jessica said. "Though we're still missing your grandfather."

"Ron's basically banned EVERYONE from his ship from coming down here," Jaden said. "And as no one wants to talk about it… I personally think it has something to do with that one planet the _Exeter _and _Enterprise _visited back in the 23rd Century Ishmael told me about."

"Shirou-ojii-san mentioned that in his journals," Takeshi remarked. "Something about a planet where anyone's fantasies could come to life… and something happened to cause Ron to swear off Vacation Planets."

"I think Ron's overreacted a bit," Jaden said. "It's not like every vacation planet's like that one… but enough of that: once we get our stuff to our rooms, we're having some fun! It's been forever since I've surfed without a holodeck!"

A Class-1 shuttlecraft landed close by, bearing the registry NCC-1672/1 _Ra-Horakhty_. "That's an old one." Jaden said blinking, "Sixteen-Seventy-Two? That means it's from the _Exeter_. The OLD _Exeter_." The side doors opened, and out came Riza, wearing her standard brick-red uniform, only instead of pants she had a skirt.

"Riza?" Jaden asked blinking. "What are you doing here? I thought Ron locked down the _Ptolemaeus._"

"Well, she had some help," Ishmael said as he stepped out of the shuttle after Riza. "Me and Riza managed to… sneak out without Ron knowing. As far as he's concerned… we're still on the _Ptolemaeus._"

"Sneaky…" Jaden said with a smirk. "Well either way, glad both of you were here!"

"In about fifteen minutes, I expect my brother to call," Riza said. "He might be busy with his tribbles, but he'll find out soon enough."

"Tribbles?" T'Vrell asked. "He has tribbles?"

"A fuckton of them," Ish said with a chuckle. "He's genetically altering them to… explode."

Jaden and the others all blinked at that. "That… is either the most messed up thing I've heard… or the most awesome," he said.

"It'd certainly make the Klingons hate Tribbles even more," Takeshi remarked. "I mean, I remember hearing the Klingons drove Tribbles to almost extinction back in the 2270's, though they obviously missed some if Ron has a supply. And then if I remember correctly, DS9's security chief, Odo, brought a Tribble back from when they had an incident with someone using the Orb of Time to bring them back to the time Kirk was at K7, and I think the Klingons went into an uproar that the Tribble population started a resurgence."

"You'd be wrong: they were wiped out in 2292," Ish said. "Ron's tribbles were the last ones in the known universe. Well, at least until now. Besides, he'll probably come down here to test his new tribble grenades. Think of it: grenades that resupply themselves given enough time."

"I still think it's kinda mean…" T'Vrell muttered. "They're not that bad… especially if you get them genetically modified so they don't, ah… go at it like bunnies…"

"Oh? Like you and Jaden a few days ago?" Elisa said with a smirk, causing both the Captain and the Vulcan to blush bright red.

"E-Elisa!" T'Vrell shouted, just causing the tactical officer to laugh.

"That reminds me," Takeshi said, looking at T'Vrell. "Did you get checked out by your doctor after that, in case of any… unforeseen consequences?"

"I…" T'Vrell began to say before she paused for a minute. "Oh Crap, I didn't think about that…"

"Huh?" Jaden asked, "You… oh boy… we're… gonna have to check that soon…"

"Worry about it later. My brother gave you all strict orders to relax. So do it."

"Excuse me?" A man in a suit approached the Starfleet officers. "I'm Garfield Paxton of the New Essentialists. I saw you come down and wanted to invite you all to a meeting we're holding later today."

"Thanks… we'll consider it, but really we just want to relax…" Jaden said. "You have NO idea what kind of month we've been having lately…"

Takeshi sighed. "Jaden, I remember hearing about these guys - they're a group of extremists who think that the Federation's gotten too soft because of places like Risa… how did you get here anyway, Mister Paxton? This is supposed to be a private beach."

"No forcefields preventing me from walking onto it." He had a point.

"Don't worry about it," Jaden said before turning back to Garfield. "Mr. Paxton, thank you for the offer, but really… we _need _a good vacation. If you've seen the shit we've been through the last few weeks… well, you'd see the Federation is _anything _but Soft."

Paxton shook his head, leaving the group alone as he walked away. "Unfortunately, my brother might actually listen to those morons." Riza said. "He's a bit overzealous about defending the Federation."

"We've noticed: the man's a fleet killer." Jessica mused.

Riza shook her head. "No. He's more of an advocate of simpler pleasures: theaters, plays, books and such." She said. "This place isn't his thing, and if it was a danger to anyone, he'd General Order 25 it."

"Okay, can we please drop this subject, and get to the resort?" Jaden asked. "We only have a _week _of shoreleave, and I refuse to allow anyone tempting Murphy while we're here that will cut it short. Let's get going now, alright?"

"Forgotten. Come on: I need to get a horga'hn to prank Ron with once we get back to the ship."

"He's going to kill you for it, Ish."

"It'll be worth it."

Riza smiled. "I never said it wouldn't be."

* * *

**USS _Ptolemaeus_ \- Captain's 'private laboratory'**

* * *

"And they called me crazy before." He had FINALLY done it. He had created his tribble grenades. They had the explosive force of an RGD-5 from the 20th Century, and all you had to do to 'prime' it was pet the tribble. 10 seconds later, BOOM. "And now to breed them like rabbits. Actually, tribbles breed WORSE than rabbits."

A device on his belt beeped before he pulled it out. Someone from S31 handed it to him before he left ESD in 2293, and he never figured out what it was. At least until he heard a voice coming from it. JADEN'S voice. "What the hell do you want, kid?"

"_I'm going to be paying you a visit in a few hours,_" Jaden said, sounding… different. "_Get… him up on the ship as well._"

"You know I hate mobius loops."

* * *

**Meanwhile - Risa Surface**

* * *

"I know this is cliche, but I gotta say it: COWABUNGA!" Jaden shouted as he rode a sizable wave down on a surfboard.

Riza and Ishmael chuckled as they hovered above the water using their newly acquired AG thruster packs (called 'Floaters' by the Risians). His grandson was enjoying himself, but he was more focused on Riza. She was a VERY pretty lady, and if Ron wasn't so overprotective, Riza might've been Jaden's grandmother. Then again, the last time someone tried to ask Riza out, (and attempted kidnapping two days later) Ron broke most of the bones in the fool's body.

"Something wrong, Ish? You're staring."

"Oh, uhh, nothing," Ish said. "Just, uh… I think this is the first time I've seen you in, ah, in a swimsuit."

Riza, much like her brother, was rather conservative. She didn't like exposing skin unless it was necessary. A gold one-piece suit with enough missing parts to indulge the imagination while leaving plenty to it was her most provocative outfit. And in Ishmael's highly biased opinion, she was fucking sexy in it.

"Oh, uh, yeah… I rarely ever get the chance to use it…" Riza said, turning her head slightly to hide her blush. "What with us being on missions and all… it… doesn't look _bad, _does it?"

"Oh, ah, No! Not at all!" Ishmael said. "You look great - err, I mean you look perfect!"

There could have been a new shade of red for Riza's blush. Ishmael privately coined it 'Riza scarlet'. "Well… I was considering asking you out before you left, but…" she said. "We had to leave so quickly, and after you came back and I knew you were married…" Ishmael winced. Riza's betrayed feelings went beyond him leaving. He married someone that WASN'T her. Loved someone that wasn't her.

"Riza…" Ish said, as the two landed their floaters on the beach. "I… can't excuse what I did, I know… I thought you, Ron and the others were all dead… everyone was telling me to move on… I admit, I loved Peg… which made it all the more harder when she died during the Dominion War, it felt like I failed the people I loved _twice…_"

"You failed no one," Riza said, surprising Ishmael. "It was beyond your control. Section 31 kept you from us, and you had nothing to do with the death of your wife during the war. Stop carrying around the guilt. It's time to move on." She then smiled a bit as she held his hand. "And I've forgiven you."

"Riza…" Ish said, as the two looked deep into one another's eyes. Ish moved closer to Riza, and she in turn moved closer, until finally their lips met into a kiss.

"I was wondering why you two were having such a hard time dealing with one another." Both froze before they looked shoreward, spotting their commanding officer in full uniform carrying a basket full of tribbles. "I was going to ask if you would finally just kiss and get it over with, as my sister's had a crush on you for the past decade and you're the only one I approve of to date her. Of course, you know what will happen to you should you hurt her in any way, correct?"

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET DOWN HERE?!" Both of them shouted.

"There's a transporter unit on the Ra-Horakhty." Ron said. "Where's your grandson? I need him."

Riza and Ish blinked, as they pointed over to where Jaden was still surfboarding. "YES!" Jaden shouted as he rode up the current wave he was on, as he launched himself into the air for a few moments before landing back on the wave. "If Only this was Hawaii! I REALLY need to do the next surfing contest there!"

"Your surfing's going to have to wait." Jaden froze as he looked at Ron, pulling out his communicator before handing the tribbles to Ish and Riza. "Pet one, throw it into the water and watch the fireworks. Literally. I need you on the _Ptolemaeus_, Jaden: it's important."

"_CAN IT FUCKING WAIT!_" Jaden shouted in the communicator, causing the others to wince. "_Can't the Goddamned Federation handle ANYTHING without us FOR ONE GODDAMNED WEEK!_"

"This is personal, Jaden. I wouldn't ask if it weren't. Let's just say the person asking for you… is you." The two _Ptolemaeus_ officers facepalmed. Time travel. DTI was going to have their asses by the end of the week.

"_…son of a-_" the next verse of curses Jaden sputtered out needed to be censored, lest this fic be altered into an M-rated story.

"And I thought I had a mouth," Ron said. "Get onto the _Ra-Horakhty_ after you get changed into something more presentable. We don't want to embarrass the Admiral by you showing up in a swimsuit."

"_If it's really me - I'd understand._" Jaden said.

* * *

**Later - Ra-Cailum**

* * *

"He's right, I could've cared less."

Sitting before Ron and Jaden was a man who looked to be an older version of Jaden, now wearing what looked like the flag officer version of the Odyssey Uniform.

"Alright, you better have had a _damn good _reason for pulling this shit off," Jaden said, still in his swimsuit. "You _know _the kind of week I've had."

"I didn't want to do this, but I had to preserve the timeline, even if I piss myself off in the process." Admiral Jaden said with a sigh. "And I remember doing this at this time, at this date. And Ron wasn't going to take no for an answer."

"What, Captain Pinkerton's still ordering you around?" Jaden asked, but future Jaden shook his head.

"No, ADMIRAL Pinkerton is ordering me around, and he's the unofficial head of Starfleet Tactical now," he said.

"Wow - Ron getting promoted… what did he do to earn that punishment?" Jaden asked, knowing full and well Ron did NOT look forward to being promoted to an Admiral. If anything, he'd consider it a punishment more than anything.

"He kept doing what he did best," Admiral Jaden said. "And kept trying to make us look good instead. Don't bother trying not to, Ron: it'll happen whether you want it to or not."

Ron crossed his arms. "What's this about?" he asked. "The last time I saw you was in 2293, just before the _Ptolemaeus_ left spacedock. You gave me this thing." Ron held up the temporal communicator.

"Yeah, there's a reason for that," Future Jaden said. "It's about the Iconians."

"Oh goddamnit…" both Jaden and Ron muttered at the same time.

"I know," Admiral Jaden said. "For Ron, the Iconians are a dead race, a historical myth. For you… and once upon a time me, they're a fact that seems to be gone. They aren't. Everything from Romulus' destruction to the war with the Klingons to all the shit with the Undine… it's their doing."

"So the Iconians are still alive… fan-tucking-fastic," Jaden muttered, as the Admiral nodded.

"They made the Undine think we're invading their realm when we're leaving them alone. They also convinced Taris to… well, you know what happened to Romulus."

"So why aren't the Iconians trying to, well, kill you right now?" Jaden asked.

"Because they can't travel back in time," Future Jaden said. "Their brains use chronoton-based transmissions. Allows them to use those gateways of theirs."

"Buh?"

"What your future self means, Jaden, is that their minds can't withstand going back in time." Ron simplified. "It's like using an EM pulse to fry a 21st century computer to them."

"Ah," Jaden said nodding. "So… what do we need to know now? About the Iconians?"

"You'll be going up against a Cardassian and Klingon attack force in about 6 days," Future Jaden said. "Five other captains will be joining your motley task force: three Klingons, two Romulan Republicans. You'll be working together for the rest of the war. Ron knows who to blame."

Ron slammed his head against his desk. "KUBAN FUCKING SANJUICHI!"

"Yeah, them, Klingon Intelligence, and Republic Intelligence," he said. "After that, you'll go back in time on Drozana station. Ron'll meet you there for the first time."

"Anything critical that I should tell Ron then?" Jaden asked. "Aside from giving him the communicator?"

"No, you're not giving him the communicator," Future Jaden informed.

"The first time we met wasn't in 2293," Ron said. "It was 28 years earlier. Just as I was starting out my career on the _Reliant_. I was with Shirou and Rin that day. You had a Vulcan with you - T'Vrell - mentioned a doctor that might be able to help."

Jaden blinked. "Help with what?" he asked, as the future Jaden chuckled.

"You'll find out _very _soon," he said. "But anyways, when you go back you're basically going to make sure that no one dies because the Davidians are trying to phase shift the entire sector using a triolic wave-charged comet. You'll plant a recording device in the computer center for information gathering on the Iconians."

"Guess that explains all the weird shit we were experiencing that week."

"Just do what you need to do, and remember, he CAN break the laws of physics," Admiral Jaden said with a smirk. "It's how he survived 75 years in a buffer."

He then pulled out another tesseract communicator. He froze for a second before looking at his past self. "One last thing," he said with a brief smile. "You should see about looking for a ring for T'Vrell sometime in the next nine months - preferably sooner. I will mention there's a couple decent jewelers down on Risa's surface you could go to."

"...why?" Jaden asked warily, as Admiral Jaden laughed.

"Oh man, it really _is _funny seeing my reaction," he said. "You'll see _very _soon."

He disappeared in a vortex of light, returning to his time. "Iconians. What does one of their gate things look like?" Jaden pushed a button on Ron's monitor, pulling up an image of an arch-type gateway. "I've blown up one of those. 2288, just after I got the _Ptolemaeus_. Long story: it involves the Tholians."

"Well, at least I get the rest of my shore leave until the Klings show up," Jaden said with a sigh. "If you need me, please: HESITATE to ask." And with that, he tapped his commbadge. "One to beam back to the beach please." And a few moments later, Jaden vanished.

"And so continues my life. Note to self: kill the next Section 31 agent I see."

* * *

**Risa surface**

* * *

BOOM!

"Holy shit, he wasn't kidding. These things DO explode." Riza and Ishmael, doubters of the exploding tribble, had been testing the tribbles as Ron asked. And every one of them exploded as Ron stated they would.

"Wow, Ron did some serious work with those exploding Tribbles," Takeshi remarked, having come over with Linda, who was clad in a two-piece deep red bikini that put her slender figure and decently-sized assets on full display, to see just what was going on with the explosions.

Jessica came up as well, clad in a sleeveless wetsuit with half the leg missing. She looked back at the explosion marks on the sand before looking up at the pair of impromptu testers. "Okay. I gotta admit, that's kind of… interesting… or creative or insane. I don't know which, but… those could come in handy some day," she said, folding her arms.

"Yeah… it's… it's something…" T'Vrell said, as she approached the group - wearing her own dark blue two-piece bikini which left little to the imagination.

"You alright, T'Vrell?" Ishmael asked. "You look a bit… pale… "

"Uhh… anyone know when Jaden's coming back?" she asked, scratching the back of her head a bit sheepishly. "I, uhh… I've got something I need to… tell him…"

"Apparently Ron needed to talk to him about something, from what Ish and Riza said," Takeshi remarked. "I think he'll be back soon enough."

At that moment, a transporter beam of light appeared nearby, as coming out of it was Jaden who sighed. "Alright, back to relaxing…" he muttered, before he saw the others. "Sup, guys! Whacha doing?"

Riza pet a tribble before throwing it into the water. Jaden wondered what it was prior to a large explosion going off. "My brother gave us his first batch of exploding tribbles," she said. "He calls them polygeminus grex praemium."

Jaden blinked. "That's a… mouthful for a name," he said.

"Not really, when all it amounts to is 'exploding tribble'," Riza said. "Polygeminus grex is the species name for the tribble. Praemium means 'explode' in latin."

A VERY meaningful name. "So it's cute AND it's lethal," he said.

"That's what he was going for," Riza said, shrugging.

Jaden then glanced at T'Vrell, blushing slightly at her choice of attire for the vacation. "Oh, ah, T'Vrell…" he said. "You look, ahh… you look great!"

"T-thanks, Jaden…" T'Vrell said, before she sighed. "I, uhh… I've got something I… need to tell you…"

"What?"

T'Vrell gulped a bit. "Well, I… while you were gone, I was feeling a bit… woozy, so I checked with the local doctor, and… well…" She scratched the back of her head. "You're… gonna be a daddy..."

All were speechless. At least until Riza spoke up. "Well, at least I'm going to be a step-grandmother."

"Wait, WHAT?!"

"My brother gave his blessing. I'm basically dating Ishmael now." The double shock caused Jaden to fall back on his back, unable to process anything.

"I think we broke him," Ish said.

"Likely," Takeshi remarked. "Still, congratulations, T'Vrell."

Riza pet another tribble before tossing it seaward, but it exploded long before it hit the water. "I think we should stop before the tribbles dye the sand red."

* * *

**USS _Escalvantine_**

* * *

An AI had many things to do, and C.C was trying her hand at hacking into the _Ptolemaeus_' so-called 'Exeter Records' in an attempt to get more information on the unofficial commander of their task force.

'_Hmm… Lantaru? Isn't that the system listed in the background for those Omega files Lelouch has under high-security clearance?_' she wondered. She'd managed to crack the security on those files out of curiosity soon after she'd been integrated into the ship's systems, but had agreed to be sworn into secrecy - that 'Omega Particle' had a lot of potential, but was just too unstable. Still, the Lantaru files on the _Ptolemaeus_' systems weren't connected to the Omega directory - what was in there, she wondered.

"_Omega-level authorization required._"

The ancient AI narrowed her digital eyes. Omega-level clearance was meant for Grand Admirals: the Chiefs of Staff. She began working her way around the clearance level, before finding a log entry. "_Captain's Log, USS Exeter, Stardate 7492.1: 15 years ago, we let that bitch go. T'Uerell escaped from our clutches, but NOT this time. Sanjuichi's going to pay for not telling us about those cybernetic fucks, but at the moment, I'm more worried about that Vulcan whore and what she has planned._"

'_He doesn't like Section 31, does he?_' she asked herself mentally. Still, she'd heard some stories regarding the rogue Vulcan T'Uerell - it looked like Pinkerton had been part of the chase at one point. And apparently she'd had access to Borg back then, as well.

Another image appeared, this time of a starship she knew: _Odyssey_-class. But the stardate was off: 8915. It was a blurred image, but clearly Ron had a record with DTI almost as large as Kirk's. And one of the last files she saw was the Exeter… facing off against itself.

'_What the hell?_' she thought, as she fully examined the images.

One ship had USS _Exeter_, NCC-1672, with standard Starfleet markings. The other was marked ISS _Exeter_ NCC-1672, but had yellow markings on the saucer section and hull.

She then recalled the various stories she'd found detailing the 'Mirror Universe' - how the Terran Empire in that universe was essentially a descendant of the Nazis who won WWII in that timeline, and was an expansionist group that conquered whatever they came across, before the Kirk from her timeline was transposed with their Kirk, and apparently got their Spock to start thinking of doing things Starfleet's way. He started turning the Empire into a republic, only for the Klingons and Cardassians to conquer them. And then the DS9 crew had several encounters with them, as well, sparking the Terrans to rise up against their conquerors. It seemed Ron had his own encounter with this Mirror Universe.

And apparently recruited someone from it. The crew manifest showed no Sonja Henderson prior to Stardate 7249 on the _Exeter_. The moment they got BACK, her name first appeared on the crew lists. Henderson wasn't an Academy graduate, but someone from the dark side of the mirror, and assigned to the _Exeter_ simply because S31 thought she was Ron's problem.

This was getting more and more intriguing the further she looked. It seemed like Ron seemed to get all the weird assignments the _Enterprise_ missed - and any ships he worked with apparently picked up the same luck.

"Trying to learn more about us, hmm?" A circular screen appeared before her, showing off the woman she just learned was from an alternate universe. "You know, I was HOPING one of you would try this."

"Wh- How?" C.C asked. She thought she'd been discreet enough not to draw attention-

"I set up a special tap in the system files the moment they were set up on the _Ptolemaeus_. ANY access that doesn't have the big man's authorization gives me an alert. Picked up the trick from some assholes in the Romulan Tal Shiar."

That was rather clever, C.C had to admit. "Well, you can't fault me for being curious," she said. "All of the official files on Ron, your ship, and the rest of you are so heavily redacted it isn't funny - and part of my purpose is to collect and analyze data on both allies and enemies, determining behavioral patterns which I then use to help formulate battle strategies. It's why the Preservers made me so many millennia ago - I was stuck monitoring an abandoned outpost for who knows how long before Lelouch found me less than a year ago."

"I remember those assholes. And don't access my ship's computers ever again."

"Or what?"

"We picked something up in 88. It took me MONTHS to isolate it in a tricorder, but now, I've sorta weaponized it. Enjoy." Sonja pressed a button before the _Escalvantine_'s computers were flooded with a virus. No, not a virus. A computer program. An **_Iconian _**computer program.

Luckily, C.C was built around or before the time the Iconians came around, so she was able to resist it. Still, she was **_not_** looking forward to cleansing it from the ship, which didn't have that resistance, and she also wasn't looking forward to informing Lelouch about this…

* * *

Sonja smiled. About a month of work went into isolating that program, and nearly four YEARS of work to get it to do what SHE wanted. She had no idea who originally made it, nor did she care: a weapon was a weapon. And it was EFFECTIVE. "Commander, there's a ship entering orbit. IDed as USS _Independence_."

"Cobb decided to bring his people to this shithole? Open a channel, Corpie." The Andorian paused to glare at Sonja. "Don't call me that."

The bridge of the _Independence_ appeared on the engineering station's monitor, complete with the ship's new commanding officer. "Commander Cobb, welcome to the earthquake-plagued and rain-soaked shithole known far and wide as Risa. Anything I can do for you?"

_"Well, the Admiral sent us here as part of our shore leave, after the crew managed to get in touch with their families_," said the now Captain of the _Ambassador-_Class cruiser. "_Oh, by the way, it's Captain Cobb, now. Since I was the only higher ranking officer on the _Independence_, who hadn't lost their mind and killed themselves, because of… you-know-who, the Admiral choose me,_"

Sonja shrugged. "Meh. None of us can keep heads or tails of the new rank system nowadays." Unlike the rest of the task force, which used Antares or early-release versions of the Odyssey uniform, the _Ptolemaeus_ crew STILL wore their vintage 2293 uniforms with rank pins on the uniform flap fastener. "Enjoy your vacation. _Ptolemaeu_s out." The image faded from the screen.

* * *

**USS _Yorktown_ \- Stardate 86072**

* * *

"The Cardassian movement known as the True Way is making some kind of push into the Donatu system." Sonja said. "Right in the middle of an offensive made by the Klingons. Our job…" The _Ptolemaeus_' chief engineer pointed at the monitor screen with a long metal rod. "…is to make those fleets go away. The context is up to them."

"At least we have one more day of leave…" Jaden said, cracking his neck a bit. "I'm just glad we're going back into the fray after some good old relaxation."

Sonja scoffed. Like most members of the _Ptolemaeus_ crew, she wasn't one for vacation planets. Ishmael was one of the few exceptions to the rule. "The boss told me about your little visitor from the future," she said. "I think we're going to have a bit of an issue if we're getting intel from one of those ships on a people who are long since dead."

"Correction: _thought _to be long since dead," Jaden said. "Future me said that a lot of the events today are being set up by the Iconians. They never went extinct… they just found a new home somewhere else in the cosmos."

"Well, if they show up, I have a nasty surprise for them: I dug up a computer program from some planet back in 88. Nearly destroyed the ship. It took me months to isolate and almost five years to rewrite it to do what I wanted, but it works now."

Lelouch was not pleased by that. "Oh, I know: you used it on MY ship. You nearly destroyed it, and we're STILL cleaning up the mess that Iconian virus made!"

"Technically it's not a virus - it's just a computer program," Jaden said. "It's like trying to run a modern day computer system on something made during the 21st century - they're not just incompatible, it just… overrides everything. "

"And causes shit to explode!" Sonja shouted with a grin. "I fucking LOVE it! I used it on a Klingon battleship back in 88 before I began rewriting it: less than five minutes later, BOOM!"

"That trick won't always work you know," Jaden said. "After what happened to the _Yamato _back in 2365, and what almost happened to the _Enterprise,_ people have been figuring out how to prevent that from happening again. We have a much superior understanding of Iconian technology and such now than we did back in the 24th century."

"Meh. I can correct that."

"Moving on, children." All glared at the head of the table, where Ron was tapping his finger on the surface. "STIG, which we all know now as Section 31, wants to know why the hell the True Way's in the Neutral Zone. They're so far from their native space, it's not funny. We're going to find out WHY they're here after beating the fuck out of them. As such, the _Ptolemaeus_ will be focusing its' attention on the Klingons. I trust you can handle these… Cardassians. Of course, you're Starfleet officers: you can handle it. Otherwise, you wouldn't be wearing the uniform."

"Of course," Jaden said nodding. "Cardassians are easy… but we just need to treat this assignment just as we would any other."

"Then you're dismissed. you've got time to get a souvenir from Risa, but I want you back on your ships within the next 3 hours. There are asses that need kicking. And we're the only ones with the right boots for the job."

* * *

**USS _Escalvantine_**

* * *

Lelouch sighed as he looked over the bridge of his ship, still in a bit of chaos from the aftereffects of the Iconian program. "C.C, how's the removal process going?" he asked.

"I've scrubbed the program from most of the computer systems, but this program is INSIDIOUS. It's WORSE then the program encountered by the _Yamato_, and that's not due to Iconian programming. Commander Henderson is highly skilled at her job. We may not be able to enter the battle, as tactical coordination is nigh-impossible, and this program is like a weed."

Lelouch sighed again. "Do what you can, C.C," he said. "As soon as Lloyd gets the physical systems figured out, I'll have him give you what help he can."

The lights blacked out for the most part once more. "ARGH. This is like pulling Borg regenerative technology out without disabling them first. How the hell did she do this? We barely understand Iconian programming, yet a woman from the 23rd Century made it WORSE!"

"I have no idea, sir," Jeremiah said from the Captain's Chair. "We'll just have to hope C.C and Lloyd can properly deal with it… or if worse comes to worst, that we can call in Commander Chawla from the SCE."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," Lelouch remarked. Rakshata Chawla and Lloyd Asplund had been rivals at the academy - and upon graduation, that rivalry had grown. If they needed to call Rakshata in, she'd be insufferable and Lloyd would never let anyone on the crew hear the end of it.

The lights came back on, but the gravity plating deactivated. Sonja didn't just make it difficult to remove: she made it AGGRAVATING, as well. "C.C?"

"Yes?"

"The next time you want information from the _Ptolemaeus_ computers… ask. This is the second time that ship has screwed us. I do not want the third to be our end. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Lelouch," C.C replied. "Also, if I might be blunt… we might **_need_** Commander Chawla's help with this, no matter what the consequences."

"I think I have no choice. Open a channel to Starfleet Command. And… try to get a link to the _Ptolemaeus_. If Henderson caused this, she can fix it."

"Understood," C.C said as she got to work on the messages.

* * *

Nigh-psychotic laughter was heard from Sonja's post on the _Ptolemaeus_ bridge. "You want my help fixing this? Please. I re-wrote the program to some degree, but even I can't erase it. The last time, I had to use an nadion-saturated EM pulse just to wipe the cores clean."

On the screen, Lelouch was livid. "_But that only works on duotronic computers!_"

"Exactly. Your AI was too stupid to just call and ask. Even if the bossman said no, the result would not've been you trying to scrub your computers clean."

Lelouch sighed yet again. "_Fine, I guess I'll need to see if my chief engineer and his Academy rival will be enough to help C.C get rid of the thing._"

"Good luck with that. It took me months to isolate the program just to purge it. And I've had time to enhance this one. Guess you won't be joining us on the Donatu op."

"_Likely not,_" Lelouch agreed. "_I guess my crew will get to spend more time on Risa as we fix this - I don't want this spreading to shipyards or, heaven forbid, ESD._"

Sonja tapped a few keys before something transported over. "Remove the computer cores and fit that in one of them, that way you can get back to ESD. The boys at Intelligence can toy with that thing, see if they can make a countermeasure to Iconian programming that doesn't involve a full shutdown and wiping. Have fun, kiddo."

Lelouch glared at her, before unceremoniously closing the channel.

The engineer smirked, proud at putting the brat in his place once again. The first time, the fleet killer humbled him. This time, the engineer made his AI think twice about getting information from their computers without asking. Next time… well, only time would tell.

* * *

**One day later - USS _Yorktown_**

* * *

Jaden sighed as he sat down in the bridge chair of the _Yorktown _once more. "_That…_. was a vacation I think we ALL needed..." he said with a smile. "Now we can go back to kicking Cardassian, Klingon, and Iconian ass once more."

"The _Escalvantine_ won't be joining us: the _Ptolemaeus_' Iconian 'weapon' basically fried their computers," T'Vrell said. "Well, I guess that's one way to stick it to the Admiral: screwing up his ship."

"Ah, Karma's a bitch," Jaden said with a smirk. "We may not understand Iconian tech and computers, but we can sure as hell exploit it, at least."

"ETA to Donatu, 30 minutes. Captain Pinkerton is requesting that the_ Raging Tempest_ spearhead the attack, with us following suit."

"And look at the fleet killer planning out an attack before hand," Jaden said. "Let him know we acknowledge, and we'll be right behind them."

* * *

**USS _Raging Tempest_**

* * *

"You know, generally, I imagined Ron just going in guns blazing, screaming at the top of his lungs for this, sir," Rina remarked. "I guess even he can be unpredictable."

"Agreed," Takeshi replied. "Still, I'm glad he's letting us get a chance to unload on them first."

Linda hmmed as she read through a PADD containing a few diary entries from Shirou Yamato. "Huh. Thought he just charged in. Guess I was wrong."

"Yeah, according to Shirou-jiji, Ron did plan things out sometimes," Takeshi remarked. "Most of the planning was by the seat of his pants, though."

"In your grandfather's words, he did not look for trouble, trouble looked for HIM."

"And it paid the price."

* * *

**Donatu system**

* * *

The True Way were operating in Donatu, reasons as yet unknown to the Klingons and Starfleet. As such, the KDF were preparing to engage the interlopers, not expecting interference from Starfleet.

As such, when the _Raging Tempest_ warped in and unleashed a hail of Pulse Cannon fire, it surprised both the KDF and the True Way.

"Where did that ship come from?! No matter, destroy it!" The tiny escort was followed through by a larger ship: _Constitution_-Class, which fired her phasers at the lead _Negh'var_, getting the battleship's attention, and distracting it from another Starfleet vessel.

The _Liberator_ took the chance to blast past, speeding by and releasing three quantum torps at the ship, hitting its shields full on before speeding after the _Tempest_.

"Destroy those Starfleet interlopers!"

"I THINK you're forgetting someone, Klinky boy."

The jaws of most of the Klingon fleet's personnel hit their respective ships' decks at the sound of THAT voice. "NO!"

"_Fuck yes! Power trio of 2270 is BACK, assholes!_"

The _Ptolemaeus _sped forward, unleashing a hail of phaser fire, as flanking on either side of it was the _Yorktown _and _Raging Tempest,_ letting out their own volleys of weapons fire as they carved a path through the enemy defenses.

"_Sorry, assholes! Time for me to do what we do best!_" Pinpoint phaser attacks and careful uses of tractor beams, photonic shockwaves and psychological warfare (Ron WAS terrifying at work) reduced the Klingons to screaming messes of themselves. The Cardassians, however, knew little of the Windstorm. They did not fear him.

Jaden was about to become the Cardassians' worst nightmare, with a little help from the Ptolemaeus. "Drop some lead on these guys!" Jaden ordered, as the _Yorktown _went full impulse, charging towards the Cardassian _Galor-_class Cruisers ahead. They opened fire on the _Yorktown, _only hitting against its shields before the _Yorktown _returned the favor. Her already enhanced weaponry made quick work of the Cardassians as after a short burst of phasers and two photon torpedoes, two enemy ships were reduced to burning scrap.

The Axon, the True Way's _Keldon_-Class flagship, attempted to fire on the Yorktown, but the Escalvatine introduced a viral matrix into the ship's computers, knocking it out of the fight. A Jem'Hadar attack ship then made a kamikaze run on the _Yorktown_, only to be cut down… by disruptor fire.

A _Mogh_-Class Battle Cruiser rippled out of cloak, before proceeding to pulverize more True Way and Jem'Hadar ships with its weapons.

"Where the fuck did that thing come from?"

Another Klingon ship decloaked, this one being _Vor'cha_-Class, supporting the Starfleet ships. It didn't make sense: they were at war. Why HELP them?

"That's new," Jaden said.

"Sir, we're being hailed by the _Vor'cha_ attack cruiser," T'Vrell reported.

"Patch them through," Jaden said, as T'Vrell opened a channel from the _Vor'cha._

A Klingon appeared on the screen. "_Greetings, Captain Takeo._" He said. "_I am Guinlong, captain of the_ Ha'bakt. _My apologies for our sudden appearance, but we had to avoid the fools that only wish for war within the KDF._"

"Not a problem, Captain Guinlong," Jaden said. "Happy to have your assistance."

"_I have transmitted a retreat signal to the rest of the fleet. Fools they may be, they are still KDF. And the Windstorm is not someone to… be around._"

"Sir, I'm picking up three more ships decloaking!" A massive shimmer of light signalled the arrival of one of the largest ships in the galaxy: a romulan _D'Deridex_-Class warbird. An evolution of the hated _V'malek_-Class warbird (hated because of Narendra III and a certain starship that four of them destroyed) the _D'Deridex_ outgunned everything there.

From the second shimmer, another vessel emerged with the oh-so familiar bird-like design of Romulan vessels - a _Norexan-_Class Heavy Warbird, while not as heavily armed as the _D'Deridex,_ it still possessed decent turn-rate, speed, and hull. Jaden looked at the vessel, and noticed however it didn't have the usual full dark green color most Romulan vessels possessed - for it had a lot of red trimming across the hull in a series of patterns.

The third shimmer revealed an _Ar'Kala_-Class Tactical Warbird, which looked to be a bit of a cross between the _D'Deridex_ and _Norexan_. It also appeared to be a Carrier variant, with its lower shuttlebay having been expanded into a much larger hangar. And its appearance, again, was a mixture of the two other ships, primarily green, but with red trimming along the hull.

"That's a new one."

"We're being hailed by the mogai," T'Vrell said. "It's identifying itself as the Romulan Republic Warbird _Vengeance_."

Elisa put the call through, and an alien woman, more or less unknown to them, appeared beside Guinlong's image. She had deep red skin, and had a pair of long pointed ears, and had dark green eyes, and had bright pinkish/purple hair tied into a pair of pigtails. "_Greetings, Captain,_" the woman said. "_I am Commander Zaheena Kalix Tokarnika, commanding officer of the Republic Warbird _Vengeance_. I presume you are here for the same reason we are?_"

"Seems so, Commander." Jaden said nodding, "Either way, glad to have you and your friends help here - the more the merrier after all."

"_This is_ Ptolemaeus _Actual: we'll begin patrolling the area. Get the intel and get out. No unnecessary risks: once that ship comes back online, we're going to have a problem._"

"Got it Ron," Jaden said. "The _Axon _is disabled, we'll beam over and get what we need."

* * *

**Later - _Axon_**

* * *

Jaden beamed onboard the _Axon _alongside T'Vrell, Razkii, and Zarva. "Sir, Cardassian security teams will probably already be heading our way," T'Vrell said. "We should expect heavy resistance."

"That's always how it is..." Jaden muttered as he prepped his Full-Auto Phaser Rifle. "Form up and stick close."

The ruined interior of the ship (Jaden felt a slight bit of pride that his ship, not the_ Ptolemaeus_, caused this) was full of wounded and dead Cardassians, the living not being able to hinder the Starfleeters. "I'm picking up an odd energy signature. My tricorder can't ID it."

"Where?"

"Mess Hall, up ahead."

The away team breached the door to the Mess hall, which seemed to be surrounded by a strange blueish glow, before they spotted several strange figures leave through the door, before the room returned to normal. "Sir, were those-"

"Devidians…" Jaden muttered. "Well, we're on the right track."

They didn't bother with the dead bodies (they already knew that their neural energy had been drained, which ultimately caused their painful deaths) before moving out of the mess hall. Before they could move on, though, the sounds of transporters were heard behind them, and not Federation ones. Klingon and Romulan ones. As Captain Guinlong and Commander Zahena appeared from them, along with their respective away teams.

"Captain, Commander," Jaden said nodding. "Glad to have you with us."

"We were informed you would say that." Guinlong held up a device that looked familiar. Jaden would have sighed if the situation weren't so serious, as it was a Klingon version of the same one Ron had on him. "Our version of your… DTI, I believe it is called, has granted us a reprieve from any visitations due to these things."

"God damned time travel…" Jaden muttered, "Why is it _always _us who deals with this bullshit?!"

Zaheena giggled slightly. "Eh, I kinda got used to it after a while," she said, "But anyways, we have Devidians to deal with. After you, Captain."

The Klingons moved forward, some of them looking at the Romulan and Starfleet personnel with little more than contempt. Not their captain, though: he seemed more 'I don't care who my allies are so long as the job gets done'.

"Here's the bridge," Jaden said as they arrived at the door which would lead to the bridge. "Odds are there are a fuckton of Devidians inside… so, who wants to knock?"

"Today is a good day to die!" The Klingons rushed into the bridge, screaming at the tops of their lungs. "I guess the door's been knocked on."

Jaden and Zaheena's own teams were right behind the Klingons, as they were once again confronted by the bluish glow, and well over dozens of the ghost-like Dividians within the room, whos attention was immdediatly drawn on the newcomers. "Chew on this!" Jaden shouted as he and the other teams opened fire with their Phasers, Plasma guns and Disruptors upon the Devidians.

They were only of marginal effectiveness, as they were still partly out of phase, meaning only protons and antiprotons could do the most damage. "Yorktown, we're having problems over here!"

"_I can see it, sir: Commander Henderson's got me doing something to the deflector to make things easier for you._"

"Hurry it up then!" Jaden shouted as he ducked under a Devidians psionic attack behind the consoles. "These things are damn annoying to kill!"

The Devidians suddenly shifted to solid masses, and one or two of the weaker ones began to actually erupt in flames. "What in the hell?"

"That's what you get when you fuck with Starfleet, assholes! Phase-shifted storm of protons and antiprotons!" The two must've be out of phase sync, as if those two made contact, the result was the same as a warp core breach, only more… destructive.

"I'll take what I can get… FIRE!" Jaden shouted as they opened fire once again on the Devidians, only this time their weapons had far more effect as they burned and blasted the creatures into dust, soon clearing the bridge.

"Starfleet's engineering abilities continue to impress," Zaheena said. "And terrify."

They didn't even know the half of it.

"Strip their computers of any information!" Quinlong ordered. "We must put an end to this threat quickly!" The Klingons saluted before they got to work. "It is an honor to meet you in person, Captain Takeo. I only wish the collective stupidity that is our governments did not cause this war. There is no honor in fighting what is supposed to be one's ally."

"I agree," Jaden said, nodding. "We have far more dangerous enemies than each other. Case in point? The Borg and Iconians."

"Agreed," Guinlong said, nodding. "Perhaps that is why Imperial Intelligence leaked the Windstorm's existence to your people."

Jaden blinked. "Wait, you KNEW he was alive and didn't do anything about it?" he asked.

Guinlong scoffed. "Only a fool would dare waste a resource like that cursed man and his crew. And there is a reason the Klingon Defense Force is running out of fools."

"Huh… Charles Darwin at its finest." Jaden said shrugging, "Brutal, maybe. Effective? Very much so."

"We will take our leave of you. We will meet again." He grabbed his arm-communicator, the KDF's commbadge, for lack of a better term. "jol yIchu'!" The Klingons disappeared in showers of red light, leaving them with the Romulan team.

"Guinlong's a very straightforward Klingon," Zaheena said. "And Practical as well."

"I can see that," Jaden said, glancing at her. "So… I don't think I've ever seen your species before…"

Zaheena smiled a bit. "I am a Kalenian," she said. "We only made contact with the Romulans a few months ago. Specifically, our fleet met with the Romulan flotilla, and eventually joined the Republic once New Romulus was colonized. It's a new homeworld not just for the Romulans, but for my people as well… it's better than being on the run from the Borg constantly, or having to work with the _Tal Shiar,_" She growled a bit as she spat out the names of the two groups.

"I'm guessing you have some history with them?" Jaden asked.

"The Borg destroyed and assimilated my people's homeworld centuries ago, forcing our people into exile," Zaheena said. "We've been wandering the galaxy since until we met the Romulans… as for the Tal Shiar... " She seemed to hesitate for a moment. "... for now, let's just say there is a reason I named my ship the _Vengeance_. And if I ever see _Empress Sela _again… I'm going to _Kill _her."

"Ptolemaeus Actual to landing parties." Ron said. "I just received a hail from K7: we're to report there for debriefing and for our next assignment, so get your butts back to your ships."

"So, I take it that was the so-called Reaper of the Federation?" Zaheena asked. "Or Windstorm as the Klingons call him?"

"Yup." Jaden said nodding. "He's an oddball… but he's a bloody awesome oddball." He sighed, "Well… I must return to my ship now Miss Tokarnika, I look forward to working with you in the future."

"As do I, Captain." Zaheena said, before Jaden tapped his combadge as he was transported back to the ship.

* * *

**Deep Space station K-7**

* * *

One of the oldest operating stations in the Federation, K-7 had changed little externally. On the inside, she was one of the most advanced stations used by Starfleet. And the nickname the _Ptolemaeus_ crew had for the place was making people giggle. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Starbase Tribble!"

Jessica blinked, a smirk crossing her face. "Heh. Nice name," she said. A small chuckle escaped her as she grinned.

"_Commanders for _USS Yorktown, Raging Tempest, Escalvantine, Ptolemaeus, _and_ Liberator, _please report to the Commandant's office. Repeat..._"

"Not even five minutes here, and the guy in charge wants to lynch us."

"Doubt he wants to lynch us," Takeshi replied. "Could be he just wants to brief us on some new development in the region."

Jessica pursed her lips. "I don't know," she said. "We'll have to see."

"Well, the layout hasn't changed. Follow me." Ron led them through the station to the only lift leading to the commandant's office, shaking his head. "The last time I was here, I was commanding the _Exeter._ Actually, it was about five months before the Bullshit Incident where I lost my ship. At least I saved part of her."

"What part of her?" Jaden asked.

"The ship's computer cores," he said. "They were eventually refitted; in fact, they're still in use."

"Where?"

"What ship do I command, Jaden?" The lift doors opened before the five stepped inside.

"So, basically the _Ptolemaeus _has the same computer core as the _Exeter_?" Jaden asked, "Wouldn't that cause compatibility issues? Using a _Connie _computer on an _Excelsior_?"

"Not really," Ron said. "Duotronic computers are easy to upgrade. When I took command of the Ex in '70, she used a Mk 4A duotronic computer core. When she went kablewy in '85, those cores were Mk 5Cs. Other than a few exchanged parts, they were the same thing. Hell, Sonja spent two years getting those things up to Mk 6B standard. It's like upgrading a B-52 from a B-52D to a B-52H: just a matter of part exchange."

"Hm, makes sense I suppose." Jaden said shrugging, "The designs between the _Connie _and _Excelsior _aren't that different to begin with I suppose…"

"One was literally developed from the other," The doors opened when the lift came to a stop, exposing them to a darkened office. "Oh, great. If this is Sanjuichi at work, I'm NOT going to be happy."

"It isn't Sanjuichi, Captain." The commandant's chair spun around before the lights came back on, revealing… Ron. Another one, wearing a different uniform, with two gold pipes and a four-sided star replacing the captain's bars on the fastener.

"OH GOD! THERE'S TWO OF THEM!" Jaden shouted. "EVERY MAN FOR THEMSELVES! WOMEN AND CHILDREN LAST!"

"Fucking great! DTI's going to have my ass for this!"

The other Ron stood up, walking towards the group, using his sheathed kilij as a walking stick. "Relax. DTI's not going to do a thing: I was supposed to come back now. Now, she should be here any minute."

"Who?"

"Oh, Jaden met her yesterday. Fucking transwarp transporters never work properly with me."

The younger Ron looked closely at his older counterpart's uniform. "Fleet Admiral?! Who the hell kicked me up the ladder?!"

"Don't know, but they had to have a lot of pull," Takeshi remarked. "You're a bit like me - the thought of being ranked any higher than Captain is anathema to us."

"Officially, I'm commander-in-chief of the Alpha Quadrant Alliance's joint operations. Unofficially, I gave all the work to Lelouch so I could command my ship, and there ain't a damn thing he can do about it, because I fuckin' outrank him!"

Lelouch groaned at that. "Gee, thanks," he said sarcastically.

Both Pinkertons looked at Lelouch. "Go fuck yourself. That's an order." And the older one WASN'T joking. "Now, where the hell-"

A Starfleet transporter beam appeared in the middle of the room. "Finally. I thought it was faster the first time." Out of the beam came Zaheena, who pulled out her weapon when surrounded by an unfamiliar room.

"WHOA WAIT WHAT THE FUCK!?" The Kalenian shouted, as she spun around. "Where the Hell- how did I get here?!"

"That would be my doing, Admiral - sorry, Commander. WAY too used to mine."

She looked at the seeming twins. "Who the hell-"

"Fleet Admiral Ronald Pinkerton, from 2425. A pleasure to see you again."

Jessica blinked, unsure of what to make of this. "Okay. It's kind of weird to see two of the same person, but… what the hell is going on?" she asked, holding up her hands.

"Easy. Just giving you a bit of a warning." Future Ron said. "It's about a certain bitch we will all grow to loathe. Empress Sela, Head of State for the Romulan Star empire."

At the name of the woman, Zaheena's eyes narrowed immediately as her hands balled into fists. "Where?" She growled out.

"Oh, you're wondering where she is right now? Rator III. And no, you can't kill her." THAT was the wrong thing to say. Of course, saying that was like saying detonating a nuclear warhead in the middle of a daycare was a generally stupid thing to do.

"And why the HELL not!" Zaheena shouted, her hand on her plasma pistol ready to draw out, while she set her wrist-badge to immediately send her back to the _Vengeance _to plot a course to Raptor III. "Give me one godamned good reason why I shouldn't head right over there, and TORCH THAT ROMULAN BITCH-WHORE AT THE STAKE!?"

"Clearly, Commander… This will get as annoying for you as it is for me."

The Captain raised an eyebrow. "No shit. You're ME."

"Ok, Rator III's the throne world, for one." Future Ron counted, "Two, the bulk of the Imperial Navy is there, plus that unholy Sword of hers, and three... kill her, you doom your own species, if not the entire Milky Way Galaxy."

Zaheena narrowed her eyes. "I can deal with the first two… but how could that bitch be important enough to 'save the galaxy'? If anything, that whore and Tal Shiar would condemn this galaxy!"

"I always hated that about you," Future Ron muttered. "Never saw the bigger picture until someone else spelled it out." A snort came from the older man's nose. "Alright then. If you kill her now, Sela will never make contact with the Dominion. Without the Dominion's forces to assist the Alliance, the Republic will die. Quickly. Oh, most of the people will survive… but none of them would be yours, not enough to sustain a population. Just enough to witness your own extinction. Can you live with that? A brief moment of vengeance, just to fuck yourself later on? If so, you do not deserve to wear that uniform, or command that ship."

Zaheena still had a mad-as-hell look on her face, growling slighting, before she shouted out as she punched the nearest wall. "GODDAMNIT! FUCK!" she shouted, as she proceeded to vent her rage out into the wall.

"I don't think I've ever met anyone with _that _big of a grudge against Sela…" Jaden muttered.

"She has her reasons," Future Ron replied. "Ask her why yourself once she cools off."

"I think I know," Ron said. "They might've tried it with me."

"You could say that," Future Ron said. "Now, I'll be leaving soon. Just remember, Commander…" He made a T in the air. "Which outweighs the other? Vengeance? Or survival?" The Admiral disappeared in a purple transporter beam.

"Damn, I'm a dick," Ron said. "Then again, you DID kinda deserve that."

Zaheena had finally vented out most of her rage, though now her hands were bruised and bleeding a bit - that's what anyone would get for punching a Tritanium wall, after all. She was breathing heavily before she sighed. "Where… where is the medbay…" she said, as she rubbed her bleeding hands. "And then… where's the ten-forward of this place?"

"Five decks down, Arm three for the former," Ron said. "Seven for the bar. Don't get too drunk, and avoid anything green."

"I could care less right now… " The Kalenian said, as she walked out of the room, the door closing behind her.

Jessica looked back at the others. "So now that we know where that… bitch is, what's the plan?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Because something tells me we'll need to be ready for if she tries anything."

"We do nothing. She's the Romulan head of state. My GOD, the standards at the Academy went down!"

Jessica narrowed her eyes a bit more, but said nothing. Even she knew better than to mouth off with Ron. "Okay. So we do nothing. I get it. Still, I don't like it."

"Deal with it."

* * *

At Club K7, Sonja was attempting to drown her sorrows. For the past month, she had been trying to make the 25th century technology work with the duotronic computers on the _Ptolemaeus_. Her attempts were...innovative, but pointless. Duotronics were reliable and tough, but not as fast as the new isolinear ones. Once this shit was dealt with, she'd put in for an isolinear core to supplement the duotronics. She would NOT abandon the _Exeter_'s old computers. They were the only things left of the ship's collective past, and no one wanted to lose that.

"What… what is… this any-*hick*-anyway?"

"It's, ahh… it's… well… *sniff* well… it's Green."

"…fuck it, bottom's up."

Sonja glanced to the other side of the bar, as she saw a red-skinned woman in a Romulan republic uniform accept the bottle of Green… well, green, and proceeded to down her first shot, before pouring down another one. Sonja vaguely recalled her as the captain of one of the Romulan ships that helped them against the Cardassians and Devidians. And she was already looking a bit on the tipsy side.

'_Oh, NO. Not that crap._' She'd gone drinking with God (well, A god) a few years back and that shit (as well as Romulan ale and Klingon bloodwine) put her under the table. She approached the Republican officer, and attempted to arrest the bottle from her. Only one man could DARE drink that shit and not be terribly affected.

Unfortunately, the moment she tried to grab it, the red skinned woman yanked it out of her reach. "H-hey-*hick*… get… get your own…" she muttered. "I… I called dibs… on *hick* on this one…"

"Trust me, little girl, you don't want to drink that. You need to be a Scotsman in order to survive that stuff." Aldeberan whiskey was not for the faint of heart. Or anyone that didn't have the word 'Scott' in their name. "Come on, give me the bottle, and I'll get you something a little better."

"I… I like this one…" the woman muttered. "I *hick* I dunno what a Scotsman is… but I-*hick*-I can handle this…"

"Trust me, girly, you can't." Sonja tried to reason, "I've seen Klingons go under the table in four glasses, and they've got livers of tritanium." Only race with tougher livers were Romulans. And that was because their ale was INSANELY alcoholic. And the only one with a liver tougher than a Romulan's was Montgomery Scott.

"I… I _got _this-*hick*-this... " She said, shaking her head. "It helps… better… it helps keep… the memories away… others don't… *hick* don't work… "

"Getting stone drunk isn't the way to solve your problems. Come on." The engineer sat beside the drunken officer. "Talk to me. It'll help. I might know a few things about… whatever the hell you're trying to forget."

Normally, Zaheena would never talk about this subject… but at the moment, she was drunk enough to start talking. "You… you know the Tal Shiar, righ-*hick* Right?" She asked. "Heard of what… what they do to people?"

"Yeah." Sonja said nodding. "It was before my time, but it happened to my captain."

The drunken officer looked at the Mars-born human. "R-*hic*-really?"

"Yeah," she said. "During a trip to a station at the Neutral Zone, he got kidnapped by the Romulans. Had a Reman poking inside his head and a LOT of chemical agents pumped into him for two months before he got pissed off enough to escape. Stole a ship, made his way back to the _Exeter_."

"I know… I know the feeling…" Zaheena said. "Few… few months ago… me and my crew went to… went to the Hobus system… investigate some… station… that's when we found out… some Tal Shiar scientist… Taris… blew up Hobus… caused the supernova, blew up Romulus and Remus…" she shook her head. "They say… Tal Shiar's was to… to protect the Star Empire… then they blew up a star, and killed billions of _their own _people... "

"Fuck," Sonja muttered. "I sorta know how that feels. I... my parents were very bad people, claimed to be 'doing what needed to be done', but they killed thousands for shits and giggles. All in the name of 'perfecting humanity'. If I wanted to be 'perfect', I'd've beamed over to one of those ships at Lantaru."

"That's not… the worst of it…" Zaheena said. "I was… on the station… my team beamed out… I set the place to blow… had to escape through the… the gateway they were testing…" she then chortled a laugh. "And guess where the _fuck _I ended up? Smack dab in the middle of a Tal Shiar Warbird."

"In the serpent's nest, in a matter of speaking," Sonja said. "They must've been pissed. What'd they do, try to brainwash you into working for them?" Zaheena's silence was the only answer she needed. "Oh fuck…"

"…She was there… _Sela_." She growled out, her grip on her glass tightening. "Though every step… first it was just talking… then the damn pain… I can still hear the ringing in my ears… when I woke up… I could barely control my own body… I tried fighting it, again and again… I kept hearing her voice… over and over… and my friends voice… first they… they put me in a holodeck simulation… made me… made me think I… I killed my best friend… then they… they made me build… and test, a Thalron weapon… I tried to sabotage it, but… every piece I picked up just…" she swallowed the lump in her throat. "Then… the woman… oh god… they… they had me… graft Borg… borg Implants on that… human woman… I wanted to stop it… fuck I even tried to put her out of her misery, but… I couldn't control my own body… I can still hear her screams… pleading… begging me to stop… but I… I couldn't… "

"Well, I'd kill the bitch," Sonja said. "Tempted to do just that if I run into the bitch." Sonja patted her twin ushaan-tor ice-mining tools as a form of comfort. "But what brought this about?"

"That… Windstorm guy… Pinkerton... " Zaheena said, "Some… future version of him… told me where she was… but said… I kill her… I doom the Republic… I doom my species… and I might even doom the whole goddamned galaxy…" She bared her teeth as her grip tightened. "I want… I want to kill her so bad… make her pay… for everything… but I can't knowing… knowing I'd… I'd… GAH!" Her grip was so tight, that she actually broke the glass in her hands, shattering it.

"So, bitch saves the galaxy eventually. What's stopping you from doing it AFTER?" The Republican officer looked at Sonja, honestly not considering that. "War's over and there's no reason for her to live any longer. It's just a matter of time." She withdrew one of her ice-picks from hell. "A simple matter of time before you shove something like this into her skull."

Zaheena chuckled slightly, "Yeah… if I can I'd like to shove that sword we found at Dimorus down her throat," she said. "Assuming the eggheads will let me… _borrow _it long enough… "

"If the bitch dies, who cares how?" Sonja asked, as she put the ice mining tool back into her holster on her hip. "I need to get back to my ship: she needs a bit of work before she's ready to go back out into the field."

"Yeah, yeah… " Zaheena said, shrugging as she poured down another glass. "I'll… be here for a while… "

* * *

**USS _Yorktown_ \- conference room**

* * *

"Driffen's Comet is the source of this bullshit, and it'll pass by Drozana Station in 96 hours." A diagram showed the comet passing by the former Federation station. "The Devidians have charged it with enough trolic energy that it's generating a temporal field. Once it crosses pathes with Drozana, the fuckers'll be able to phase shift an entire sector."

"Om nom nom." Sonja glared at Ron, who just shrugged. "So, we need to get a team onto the station and destroy their little nest."

"Might not be that simple," Takeshi replied. "I mean, we know the Devidians have used time-travel before. Who's to say they're not doing it at Drozana?"

"They did." Ron spun his chair around to face his fellows. "I remember seeing some of you on Drozana, as well as some bullshit with the lights."

Takeshi nodded grimly. "Which means we need to go back to the past, and find a way to stop them there - including potentially destroying that comet, if we have to."

"I hate time travel…" Jaden muttered. "So much I'd _want _to change, yet so much I can't…"

"Oh? What would you change if you had the chance?" T'Vrell asked.

"First - go back to the age of Dinosaurs and rescue some, and put them all on a habitable planet so their species could survive," Jaden said, raising one finger. "Next: kill whoever invented the Borg, and _finally_… prevent the birth of Justin Bieber. If I hear that 'baby' song one more goddamned time, I'm gonna saw my own arm off!"

The _Ptolemaeus_ officers blanched at that. Clearly, they had first-hand experience. "Regardless, we know who to send. Jaden, T'Vrell, Takeshi, Linda, you're going to Drozana Station."

Takeshi nodded. "Right," he said. "What about you guys, what'll you be doing?"

"I'll be working on the Ptolemaeus' retrofit."

"We weren't involved with the time travel thing. I would remember, yes? while we're dealing with that, I'll deal with the fucktards in Sanjuichi: find a way to get one of our ships back to Drozana in 2265."

"Well, let us do as the Big E's do," Jaden said, shrugging. "If the _Enterprise _can do it, so can the _Yorktown_… I mean hell, a freaking _B'Rel _was able to pull it off!"

"We need confirmation, first," Ron said. "You guys were TERRIBLY vague when you were there: we're not sure if the Devidians caused this or not. So you're going back to make damn sure this was caused by them, and not an accident. TPD applies. Try not to cause too much chaos."

"I can make no promises," Jaden said. "We'll get things set up."

"Dismissed, then."

* * *

**Drozana Station - 6 hours later**

* * *

The former Federation starbase was in VERY poor shape. And it showed: one of the arms was nearly falling off, and it sickened the Starfleeters. "I think Captain Pinkerton is going to be VERY angry when he hears about this."

"Understatement of the century," Takeshi replied. "K7's an important frontline base. DS9's the Crossroads to the Gamma Quadrant. Drozana? It's just a dive, now, and he would NOT be happy about that."

"He's gonna find out eventually…" Jaden said, as they entered the station's bar. "So, where is that Ferengi we gotta meet?"

"By the bar."

There was, indeed, a Ferengi at the bar, no doubt watering down the drinks to make a profit. Oh, was HE in for a surprise, as the four Starfleet officers approached the Ferengi.

"Welcome to Drozana station. I'm Balen, the humble administrator of this place. How can I help you? Might I interest you in the comet cocktail? It's out of this world!"

"Maybe later." Jaden said, "For now, I'm looking for someone. Ze'Mara, know her?"

"Hmm... I might. I could be persuaded to remember…" At this point, the capitalistic mentality of the Ferengi had driven Jaden to the brink. Humanity outgrew that stupidity three centuries ago. So he was going to use his 'secret weapon'.

Jaden let out a small, chilling laugh, causing the Ferengi to feel a shiver down his spine. "Belan… if there is one thing I hate about Ferengi… it's that stupid capitalistic mentality nearly your entire damn species has… " he said, as he picked up his communicator. "I don't want to - nor do I have the time - to deal with this shit, so… I'm gonna just go ahead and call in the motherfucking artillery."

He then pressed the comm. "Hey Ron!" Jaden said in an overly cheerful tone. "Wanna stop by Drozana Station or a sec? I got something I gotta show ya!"

"_I'll be there in a few hours: I have to hijack a shuttle._"

Balen paled slightly. "Uh… who was that?" he asked, before Jaden began grinning like a madman.

"Oh, that was Ronald Pinkerton," Jaden said. "You know, the only man to make the Klingons SHIT THEIR PANTS just HEARING his name?"

"Uh...why did you call him?"

"Easy… he's from the 23rd Century… you know… back when this very station was in pristine condition? Federation-controlled… " He said, before he looked at the Ferengi dead in the eye with a sick grin. "How do _you _think he's gonna react when he sees this once great Federation frontline starbase… reduced to _this_?"

Balen's skin turned bone-white. "Uh… she's by the dabo table." He said, pointing in the general direction. "Please don't call him in! I don't want to die!"

Jaden shook his head, making a 'tisk, tisk, tisk' sound. "Oh, trust me." He said, "He will do WORSE then kill you. But if you promise to fix this place up, I'll put in a good word for you."

"Do you know how much a full refit to this place will cut into my profits?!" The Ferengi shouted.

Hole. Dug. Deeper.

Jaden's eye twiched slightly as he stood up, and proceeded to walk towards the dabo table. "W-wait! Aren't you gonna-"

"I just asked you where she was, and you told me," Jaden said, glancing back with an evil gleam in his eye. "I never said I was gonna stop him… he's _your _problem now, ya big-eared capitalist bastard."

"Oh, shit. Blessed Chequer, help me!"

"Pray to whatever god you worship, because your god is coming. And he will NOT show mercy." Balen screamed before running from the bar, waving his arms in terror. T'vrell gave Jaden a smile as she looked toward him. "You enjoyed that," she said.

"Damn right I did," he said, as he proceeded to set his clock. "Alright… should take him about 2-3 hours to get here… make sure we have cameras recording when he shows up. It's gonna be _glorious_."

He approached the dabo table, where a woman, looking awfully paranoid, was standing. "Who are you?"

"Jaden Takeo, Starfleet Intelligence. We're here to get you out of here."

"It's not safe, not with the ghosts around here!"

"Look, the Windstorm, Ronald Pinkerton, is going to be here soon," he said. "Once he gets here, you'll be the safest person in the quadrant."

Ze'Mara looked at Jaden, almost like a pilgrim onto God. "Y… you're sure? But he's dead: been gone for over a century!"

Jaden smirked, as he tapped his Combadge again. "Ron? ETA?" He asked.

"_Just got a shuttle, leaving now._" Came Ron's voice through the Commbadge. "_How soon do you need me?_"

"As soon as possible, preferably," Jaden said. "You're gonna have a… _surprise _waiting for you."

"_I look forward to seeing my old station again. Deal with those Devidians. Pinkerton out._"

Jaden tapped the badge, smiling like a loon.

"You didn't tell him," T'Vrell said.

"Do you KNOW what sort of rage he'll be in once he gets here?" Linda asked.

"Grandpa Shirou wrote in his journals that pissing Ron off is a generally BAD idea." Takeshi said. "The Tholians did it once, and they weren't heard from until he vanished."

"I'm just milking this for all its worth," Jaden said, smirking. "That, and I want to instill as much fear as I can into that Ferengi asshole… as if basting a turkey, which I shall proceed to have sex with." This got an odd look from the others. "That's right - I'm going to FUCK THE FEAR TURKEY! … you can follow me on Star Twitter at the TheCrimsonFucker!"

"This will not end well."

"Definitely not," Takeshi replied, even as he facepalmed. He liked old earth media as much as Jaden obviously did, but there were some things that were just overkill in situations like this - and the 'Crimson Fucker' joke was one of them.

* * *

**Class-1 shuttlecraft Ra-Horakhty**

* * *

Ron expected Drozana to be in MUCH better shape. Instead, the station was falling apart at the seams. He twitched as the shuttle docked with the station, picking up the proton rifle that was given to him by Drake to deal with the Devidians, if any were on the station and opened the side hatch, looking beyond livid. "JADEN! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"

"_Hey! You're here,_" Jaden said on the comm. "_At the Bar. Oh and you'll find the Ferengi that owns this station here too… probably cowering under a table or something._"

"Thank. You." The snarling captain marched through the halls of the station, walking through the central core that would eventually take him back to the entertainment zone.

"_Bonnie-kin, bonnie-kin… I see you!_"

Ron groaned in annoyance at the 'disembodied' voice. "I am NOT in the mood for this BULLSHIT." He activated the rifle before discharging it into a panel, then began rewiring the controls. "I have PLENTY of experience with you assholes."

* * *

The lights dimmed and shut down for a minute or two before they came back on. "Heeee's heeeere," Jaden said with a smirk. "Everything's set to record… once that's done, we deal with the Devi's."

A lift door opened, and in came a VERY pissed off Ron, carrying an assault weapon of some kind. "Here!" He tossed it onto the table. "I have had to deal with spiders and a malfunctioning hologram using some kind of mobile emitter!" He tossed the emitter in question on the table. "I might not be up to date on some things, but I KNOW Starfleet when I SEE it. The fucker running this place and I are going to have a VERY long conversation."

Takeshi sighed. "Jeez, you have to admire Ferengi for their resourcefulness, even if you hate their lack of business ethics," he said.

"I. Do. Not. CARE." Ron pulled out his kilij, stalking over to the bar before one of the Ferengi (Balen) screamed and ran. "GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU, YOU CAPITALIST FUCKER!"

"Well, while he's dealing with him, we'll head down below and hunt some Devidians," Jaden said, pulling out his Phasers. "Let's see what lies beneath, shall we?"

* * *

Corpses of spiders were all over the place, caused, most likely, by a very angry Captain. "Ok, maybe not telling Ron about Drozana's status was a mistake."

"That's an understatement."

They weren't under attack by the Devidians, either. Intimidation was clearly Ron's stock in trade.

"Just stay alert, and keep your eyes peeled," Jaden said as they walked forward. "We may not have to worry 'bout spiders, but I'm sure we've got some Devidians down here somewhere…" At that moment, he checked his tricorder, which began to detect triolic energy patterns. "Speak of the devil."

Takeshi drew the MACO Pulsewave he always carried as a ranged weapon. He'd upgraded from the family heirloom sword to a Monomolecular Tritanium Katana, courtesy of Ron, but even that wasn't going to be as good against Devidians as it could have been. Linda grabbed an Antiproton Sniper Rifle she'd gotten at K-7 - Matt was busily crafting her new Sniper Rifle back on the Raging Tempest, but against Devidians, again, energy beat projectiles.

Jaden opened one of the doors, finding a body on the deck, wearing a Starfleet uniform. But it wasn't an Antares or even an older version from the past 30 years. It was a uniform from 2265-2271, in brick-red with a braid on each cuff, making him a Lieutenant.

Takeshi sighed. "Well, that confirms they're using time travel again," he said. "We'll need to find whatever portal they're using, analyze it, and figure out how to go through ourselves."

"That's one way, or we could close whatever portal they're using, and go back in time via warp 9 around a star," Jaden said, shrugging. "Either way works though."

The station core was in horrible shape, as electricity sparked from one exposed conduct to the opposite bulkhead. And as none of the damage seemed to be recent (lack of sooty carbon scoring from nadion-based weapons fire) it wasn't caused by Ron. It was sheer negligence that caused this, and Balen was likely suffering for it at the hands of the only man who once served on the station that was still alive.

"I'm gonna ask Starfleet if we can fix this old station up," Jaden said as they walked into the core. "She deserves better than this… alright, we all know what to do, right?"

"Take down the Devidians, find their portal, and see where it leads," Takeshi replied. "And I think we'll end up going through it, too."

At that point, they got their first sign of the semi-malevolent beings as the air tinted blue and they appeared. "Jaden, the proton rifle!" Jaden pressed the firing key, sending out a stream of proton energy, reminding Jaden of… something. It suddenly hit him as he smirked, prepping the rifle once more.

"When there's something strange… and it don't look good," He sung to himself, nodding his head to the rhythm. "Who ya gonna Call?" He then pulled the trigger as he hit a Devidian square in the chest. "GHOSTBUSTERS!"

The beam bounced from phase-shifted 'ghost' to 'ghost, making them more vulnerable to conventional energy weapons. "What in the name of Surak are you SINGING?!" T'Vrell asked. "I've never heard that before!"

"Ghostbuster's theme! 20th century movie, one of the best!" Jaden shouted, as he continued to light the Devidians up. "I ain't afraid of no ghost! Da-na, da-na, da-na, da-na, dadadadada, "

This more or less continued until they reached the computer core, which was STILL the same as it was in 2265, only… well, the same state as the rest of the station. "I think I can understand Captain Pinkerton's rage, now. This could have been the _Ptolemaeus_."

"Well we're just gonna have to fix this place up then," Jaden said. "T'Vrell, get working on the computer - see what you can find and do for it."

"I'm on it." T'Vrell pulled out a tricorder, then began working on the only operational console when she picked up an isolinear signature. The station was practically abandoned before 2320: Starfleet never upgraded the station's computers to isolinear. "Sir, there's something here." She reached into an opening, pulling out a recording device. It was old, but clearly modern. And on the surface were labels indicating that it came from the _Yorktown_.

Takeshi looked at the device. "Oh boy," he said with a sigh. "Well, that settles it: We're going through that portal. That's about the only way we're getting to that terminal in the past in order to place that thing."

"I REALLY hope we don't have to do Time Travel too often," Jaden said with a sigh, "Can you tell what's in the device?"

"About 150 years of information on everything the station detected." T'Vrell said as she checked the encoding mechanism. "Oh, shit. Jaden, YOU'RE the one that planted this thing. On Stardate… 2715.6. Anno Domini 2265."

"Figures…" Jaden muttered. "Well, we'll have to go through the info on that thing, hopefully it recorded something useful… just make sure someone reminds me that when we _do _go to the past, we plant that damn thing here."

"Gotcha," Takeshi replied. "We should probably pass this on to Ron while we grab the blank version to plant in the past…" He sighed. "And is everyone's head hurting from that, or is it just me?"

The air tinted bright blue before a Devidian passed into the portal. One of them even gave the four what appeared to be the finger. And as soon as they recovered from THAT audacious act, their general response to the taunt was not pretty.

"…Oh HELL No!" Jaden shouted, as he and the others all drew out their weapons. "EAT PHASERS ASSHOLE!" And the group proceeded to light the Devidian up, before it was nothing more than a spray of ashes against the wall.

"Sir, if we have to go into the past, we're going to need the right clothing to pass as Starfleet officers. Our uniforms just won't… pass."

A ping was heard before they heard Ron's voice on the internal PA. "_Is this thing on? Hello? Jaden, talk to me, damn it! It's on vox_!"

"Ron?" Takeshi asked. "I take it you managed to get control of the PA system?"

"_More than that. I've got access to what's left of the internal sensors. Balen was more then cooperative._" The sound of the Ferengi monotonously greeting people coming to his bar was heard in the background. "_I think I can tie the internal sensors to the transporters and use a site-to-site. Need anything?_"

"We're good for now, but it looks like we're gonna be time-traveling, just as we thought." Jaden said. "Also, I'm going to put up a request to have Starfleet fix this station back up… "

"Oh, that's LONG overdue. Hang on." Blue light shone as a pair of boxes appeared before them. "I had the quartermasters on the Yorktown get those ready for you." Jaden opened the box, revealing a uniform and a pair of boots. The uniform itself was a 2265-2270 variant, in gold with Lieutenant's braids on the cuffs.

"Ah, old 23rd century uniforms…" Jaden said nostalgically. "I liked the older versions, but this works. "

Takeshi slapped a locator tag on the recording device they'd picked up. "Ron, we found a recording device down here, too - one we apparently are going to place when we go into the past. I've slapped a tag on it so you can use the transporter to get it - might want to get its data analyzed ASAP. We'll also need a fresh version to place when we get there…"

"Ok, locking on… God I MISSED these old duotronic controls." The device disappeared, followed by one materializing in its' place, directly from the Yorktown. In a way, it was the same one. "Get those uniforms on and get back into the past! You've got an appointment with history, damn it!"

Takeshi nodded, getting into a gold uniform as Linda slipped into a red one. Takeshi then whistled as he saw what his wife was wearing. "Looking good there, Linda," he said.

Linda smiled. "Thank you, Takeshi," she replied.

"So weird wearing these things... " Jaden muttered, adjusting the collar of his uniform, before glancing at Linda. "Though, ahhh… you sure you don't want a blue one?"

Linda blinked, "Why would I want blue?" She asked in confusion.

"My… grandfather said anyone in Starfleet wearing a Red uniform… _especially _during the Big E's 5 year mission… well… didn't last long." Jaden said.

Linda rolled her eyes. "Oh you don't know-" she began to say, before Jaden raised a finger.

"Nomad - 2267, killed several Starfleet officers - all Redshirts," he listed. "Stardate 3715.3, Crewman Hendorff and Lieutenants Kaplan and Mallory are killed on Gamma Trianguli VI, one by poison dart plants, another from exploding rocks, and other by a freaking _bolt of lightning_, with Lieutenant Marple going MIA, presumed KIA. Later, the dikironium cloud creature kills three of the Big E's guards - guess what color they were wearing? RED! Need. I. Go. On?"

Linda blinked for a moment, before sighing. "Alright, alright…" she said, switching from red to blue. "But when Jadzia Dax needed to blend in during the Orb of Time Incident, she wore red and had no problems."

"She got lucky - just like Scotty during his career," Jaden said. "But aside from them, there is a 90% mortality rating for ANYONE wearing a redshirt in the 23rd century. It's a FACT."

"_Are you done?! I wore a fucking red shirt back then, and I'M STILL HERE!_" All four paused at the reminder of Ron's use of the PA. And the shock that he didn't wear command gold, yet was still alive.

"Well, you're one of the lucky 10% then, Ron," Jaden said. "And you can't deny that, out of ALL the people in starfleet back then, anyone wearing a Red shirt died far more than anyone in any different colored shirt. It didn't end until Starfleet made ALL of their uniforms red in the late 23rd century… then it started up again when they started color-coding them again in the 24th."

"_I changed divisions when I transferred to the _Reliant_; now get going! you have a timeline to save!_" All four of them picked up 2265-era Type-2 phasers from the crates before arming them. "I'll see you when you get back."

"Thanks, Ron," Takeshi said. He turned to T'Vrell. "OK, do we know how to… work this thing, I guess?"

T'Vrell adjusted the settings on her phaser. "Yes. The Enterprise-D's records on the Devidian incident were quite complete."

"Isn't that where Captain data lost his head?"

The Vulcan nodded in amusement. "Yes. Surviving five centuries under what would eventually become Starfleet Academy proves how durable a Soong-type android is."

"Anyways, we got the data we need, now… who's ready for some time travel?" Jaden said, as he prepared his rifle.

"Let's get this over with," Takeshi replied, checking his phaser and making sure his katana was attached to the appropriate point on his borrowed uniform.

* * *

Drozana station was a proud place. More heavily armed than Deep Space station K-7 a few lightyears away and even more than Starbase 47-Vanguard, people would kill for this assignment. At least, if it were legal.

"I hate this place."

"Yes, Ron, you've said that for the past WEEK, now."

Lt. Commander Ronald Pinkerton glanced at his Academy classmates in annoyance. "Not my fault that this place is so difficult to police, Rin."

"Look, Ron, we know how difficult this place is to navigate," Shirou Yamato said. "That doesn't mean you have to bring it up every half-" A blue glow seemed to suffuse everything for a few seconds, before the lighting returned to normal. "Oh, come on, problems with the lights again?"

The higher-ranking of the three groaned. "Come on. Let's get to the computer core: we can trace the problems there. At least Rin can: we'll just make sure no one can disturb her."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Rin Higurashi replied. "I'll find out what's going on."

* * *

"So… 2265 Drozana Station. Sure as hell looks a lot better than the present day." Everything looked brand new, practically sparkling: no traces of rust in sight.

"That's for sure," Takeshi replied. "Kinda miss LCARS display panels, but they weren't invented until we went Isolinear." He then noticed a familiar terminal. "Jaden, don't forget planting that recording device for us to pick up about 15 minutes ago."

"Done." Jaden said, as he planted the device, "Thanks for the reminder - now… where the hell _is _everyone? You'd think there would be a technician or two down here in the computer room…"

Yelling was heard outside the door to the core. "Come on, is there ANYTHING on this station working?!"

"Duotronics are known to malfunction, Rin, especially when they're subjected to enough radiation to cook a whole cow, like this entire station has been since that damn comet entered the system."

"That's not the point!"

A shrill sound was heard as a phaser beam cut through the door lock, and the door opened. "There, problem solved."

Before the four from the future could hide, three people walked in - one they recognized (Ron, even if he was a bit younger than they remembered), but the other two only Takeshi recognized, from seeing them in photo albums.

"Shirou-ojiisan? Rin-obaa-san?" he whispered.

All three pointed their phasers at the four, before Ron gestured them to lower the weapons. "Christ, you people spooked me. I thought all you E transfers were up above, in the main complex."

"Uh… E?" T'Vrell asked.

Ron the younger pointed at the emblem on their uniforms. "Delta arrow. That means you're assigned to the _Enterprise_, NCC-1701."

"Ah, right," Jaden said, as he quite simply 'made shit up' as they went along. "Sorry, we're pretty new here. We came down here to access the computers, then the doors locked up on us. We were about to override the controls to unlock the door before you showed up."

"There isn't supposed to BE anyone down here. Come on, let's get you up to the higher levels. That comet's brought all kinds of trouble: the lights are fucky, people are getting sick, and we have a bunch of Klingons on leave here. NONE of that is coincidence."

Rin gave Ron an amused smirk. "What, playing detective now?"

"YOU try to make sense of this shit!"

Shirou smiled a bit. "Those two never change," he said. "They're good friends from before the Academy, but nowhere near compatible enough for a romance - honestly, it's like watching siblings argue."

"We… can tell."

Ron never seemed like the romantic type to begin with, although he supported it: he married Shirou and Rin, and let them continue their relationship while under his command. And they were always a packaged deal, as wherever Ron was, Rin and Shirou were, and after Ishmael joined the Exeter's crew, so was he.

"You kids better come with us before the forcefields kick in."

"Uh… Commander, right?" T'Vrell said. "We actually need to do something with the station's sensors."

"We have an idea on what's going on here… but we need to use the sensors to see if our theory is correct," Jaden said. "We don't think it's the Klingons that are causing this,"

"Ok, you aren't personnel assigned to the Big E. Who the hell do you work for?" They had to think quickly: Ron didn't put up with bullshit in their time, and he was likely more ill-tempered when he was younger-

"The Starfleet Technical Intelligence Group."

All eyes were on Takeshi. "The Starfleet what?"

"Not surprised you haven't heard of it," Takeshi said with a perfectly straight face. "It's a branch of Starfleet Intelligence classified so top-secret only the President is fully aware of its existence."

"Yes." Linda's poker face could probably be used as starship hull plating at this. Bullshitting the three living lie detectors was going to be STRESSFUL. "We're authorized to do whatever we have to without being noticed or bringing heat on the UFP as per-"

All three interrupted the sniper. In Japanese, no less. "Jō Juyon, Kuban Sanjuichi."

"Oh… you know the regs well!"

Rin and Shirou hooked thumbs at Ron. "Blame Mr. 'Memorize the damned regulations so well he can quote them in his sleep'!"

"Screw you, Rin! At least I know enough loopholes to let your boyfriend carry that damned letter opener on him!"

"Hey, don't diss Akatsuki no Ken!" Shirou snapped. "It's more than capable of combat, and has drawn blood since the days of feudal Japan!"

Takeshi didn't comment, though he agreed with his grandfather - heirloom blades were not to be belittled, even though he'd placed his time's Akatsuki no Ken in storage after Ron gave him the monomolecular blade, until the time came to pass the heirloom on to Larcei.

"And I kicked your ass for carrying it back at the Academy until we were forced into the same room during second year. And you STILL had to find the correct reg to carry it, with my help!"

"Uh... are they like this all the time?"

"Concerning Shirou's katana?" Rin remarked. "Yeah: they've been like this since they met. Though he's mellowed. Ish."

THIS was mellowed?

"I… see…" Takeshi replied.

It would be five years before those two would come close to a normalized relationship, then another full decade of bonding to become almost family, according to the journals.

"Well, fuck, if you're with Sanjuichi, we'll get you past the security teams. Come on."

"What, you're just… trusting us?"

"No. Try anything that endangers this station without due cause, and you die. Now get moving."

"Won't be a problem, then," Jaden said, as they started moving. "Let's get to the sensors ASAP."

* * *

Pre-Exeter Ron, Shirou and Rin were interesting people. 'Badasses before they became baddasses' was what came to mind. But they WERE the trio that defeated the undefeatable Kobayashi Maru: Ron's commands and attack patterns, Shirou's flying, Rin's sensor operations. They would only get better once Ishmael's tactical abilities, Riza's ungodly flying hands and Sonja's engineering expertise became available.

"So, who the fuck is screwing with the lights? Bones is yelling all over the place for whatever's causing it."

"None of the usual 'suspects', if that's what you're wondering," Takeshi replied. "The current thoughts by our superiors are that it's beings from outside our normal plane of existence, and the 'blue light' is the two planes coming into phase with each other."

"Oh, THAT'S lovely." The tint became a constant blue as a trio of Devidians entered a solid state, tapping the neural energy of everything in range. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT FUCKING THING?!"

"That… is the creature we were just talking about," Jaden said as he pulled out his proton rifle. "We know these guys are vulnerable to Proton weaponry… T'Vrell, music please?"

T'Vrell sighed "Really, Jaden?"

"It's necessary - hit it," he retorted, as T'Vrell sighed as she hit her PADD… and then music began to play.

**BGM: Ghostbuster Theme Song**

The music started out creepy and eerie… but then the music suddenly kicked up, and just as it did Jaden pulled the trigger as a beam of blueish energy spat out of the weapon, hitting the first Devidian in the head. "When there's something strange… in your neighborhood," Jaden sung as he attacked the next Devidian, "Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!"

Ron began nodding along, much to Rin's chagrin. "Oh, dear God, not again."

"When it fits!" He opened fire with the phaser, adding the classic weapon's fire to Jaden's antiproton/proton streams. It wasn't MUCH, but it DID hurt. "Come on, I ain't afraid of no ghost!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!" Jaden sung out, before they focused their fire on the last Devidian before them. "And, scratch three freaks. Now - where were we?"

"Getting to the triage bay. Bones could use the help." Ron led the through the halls, as they wondered who the hell was 'Bones'. Then they entered a large cargo area, they got the answer. Lanky, black hair, Southern accent and medical genius. It was the god of medicine of the 23rd Century. Lt. Commander Leonard H. McCoy, future Chief Medical Officer of the USS_ Enterprise_ NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-A, as well as the future head of Starfleet Medical. "You there! Don't just stand around there, come over here and give me a hand!" McCoy shouted. "People are dropping like flies on this station, and it's all I can do to keep up!"

"Fuck, man! What the hell are they doing?!"

Bones looked at Ron with the gravest face possible. "It's like their brains are getting sucked out!" He said.

"…Thank you, Leonard, for giving me THAT colorful image," Ron said. "Uh, Vulcan lady with the belly, a little help!"

T'Vrell blinked at the comment Ron said. "E-excuse me?" she asked, feeling somewhat insulted.

"Hate to say it, but you're not exactly hiding your pregnancy well." The complete BLUNTNESS of the comment sent her mind reeling. She'd only been pregnant for less than five weeks: how the hell did he notice?! "I've dealt with pregnant Vulcans before: I spent a year and a half on your homeworld. Now snap out of it: we've got work to do."

"R-right," T'Vrell said, stepping forward, "What do you need me to do?"

"Take scans, figure out what the hell happened! I need to keep this from getting worse!"

"Goldy, do what you need to do: we'll help McCoy keep these guys from getting worse." Ron said.

Jaden's eye twitched at the 'goldy' remark, but nodded. "Right, I'll work on the sensors," he said. "Takeshi, you come with me - might need your help. T'Vrell, you and Linda should stay here and help. You're better in this field that we probably are."

"Right," Takeshi said.

"And if nothing else, I can cover this area," Linda added.

With that, they left the trio behind, heading for the Station's sesnor array. In most cases, they would've had to scavenge parts, but they DID bring modern equipment with them. With a bit of hotwiring, they got it to work, and the results were as expected. Driffen's Comet was the source of their problems.

"OK, so we'll need to get back to our time, get our ships, take them back to this time period, and blast that thing to dust," Takeshi remarked.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jaden said. "Let's get T'Vrell and Linda and get back to our time, so we can bring in the cavalry on that comet. If I understand the Devidians well enough, it won't be enough to blast it in the present - they'd still be able to access it back here in the 23rd."

"Right," Takeshi replied. "Though we'll likely need some supplies - going through that portal gave us enough of a Triolic Radiation dose that if we come back as is, we'll get lethal levels. Our own med supplies are likely affected, too, so we'll likely need to ask Dr. McCoy for some local stuff."

* * *

"Good work. I should be able to get these people back on their feet. Pinkerton, get your ass over here and get these people to sickbay!"

"Yatta, yatta, Bones."

"And stop with that Japanese crap! I can barely understand you on a good day!"

Linda shook her head. Five years from then, those three would be on the Exeter. "So, Commander, what's your plan?"

The younger man paused as he carried a security officer in his arms. "Huh?"

"Well, you couldn't have just joined for the sake of joining," Linda said. "What were your career plans?"

"Never thought about it. Tactical sped the fuck out of my rating, making a big fucking deal over that test at the Academy."

"Huh," Linda replied.

At that moment though, Jaden and Takeshi returned to the room. "Linda, T'Vrell, time to go." Jaden said.

"Hold it. You were exposed to enough radiation to fry an egg. You're going to need medical attention." All four paused as they looked at the resident medical officer. "Look, I don't care where you folks are from, and I ain't looking a gift horse in the mouth. I'll get you your shots before you go galavanting: I don't want you people dying on me."

"Thanks, Doc," Takeshi replied.

"Right, right," Jaden said sighing. "Just make it quick - we need to get moving ASAP."

McCoy pulled out a set of hypos, all filled with hyronalin. "Come here." None of them moved, as those things looked like old-style syringes. "Commander?"

"Yeah, Bones?"

"Can you make sure they get their shots?"

"Oh, with PLEASURE."

* * *

Back to the future (117Jorn: HA!), Ron stood a few meters from the portal, using a knife to clean under his nails before four screams were heard as Jaden, Takeshi, T'Vrell, and Linda landed on the deck, on their faces. "Have fun?"

"Fuck you Ron."

"Come on, it was just a prick-"

"YOU CALL STABBING US WITH A NEEDLE A PRICK?!" T'Vrell shouted.

"Alright, calm down," Takeshi said. "We have the information we need, now we need to get to our ships, take them back to the past, and blow that comet to smithereens."

"Goody." Ron said, before pointing at T'Vrell, "Also, Lieutenant, as of now, you're on maternity leave. Get your ass to K7 for a full medical workup: I have no idea how triolic exposure like that will affect that baby of yours. And I ain't keen on finding out!"

T'Vrell looked like she was about to protest, but Jaden put a hand on her shoulder. "T'Vrell…" he said. "Just go with it, it's always best to play safe now." The Vulcan glanced at Jaden, before she sighed.

"Alright, alright," she said, shaking her head. "I'll head to K7… just don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"I can make no promises on that, you know."

"He'll be fine. Now, I have repair crews to organize. Balen was… generous enough to request assistance in fixing this place up." More like he scared the unholy shit out of the Ferengi, but the Starfleeters weren't complaining. "Just try not to ruin my ship when you get there."

"Sure thing," Jaden said, as he and the others walked away.

"Jaden, why did you have your fingers crossed when you said that?" T'Vrell whispered.

"I'm gonna bring out some pre-emptive payback for what the _Reliant _does to the _Enterprise _\- that's why."

"What does that have to do with-"

"Before he took command of the _Exeter_, Ron was the _Reliant's_ XO. And Drozana was the last posting he had before he had that job." That meant the _Reliant_ was going to be at Drozana. And that ship had a blemish on its' name that lasted for almost 50 years after she was lost at Mutara: so much so that she didn't get a successor until late into the 2220s. And even THEN, no one wanted to serve on that ship! If only they could kill Khan, but the TPD was in full effect.

"Just don't kick their asses too much, Jaden."

"25th Century starship vs early 23rd Century starships, T'Vrell," Jaden said. "It's not gonna end well for them, one way or another."

* * *

**Bepi system**

* * *

The _Constitution_-Class heavy cruiser hung in orbit near the star, ready to jump to warp and begin the slingshot maneuver that would take them back to 2265. Once they were there, the mission was simple: deal with the Devidians once and for all. And get revenge for the _Enterprise_. "All stations report ready." Jaden said. "The _Raging Tempest_ is 30000 kilometers behind us, and will arrive 15 seconds after we do."

"Sir, what will happen once we cross into the past?" Anne Potter asked. "Our ships look far more advanced-"

"We equipped a holo-emitter on the ship, which will make our ship look like a Klingon D7 from the time period - a 'gift' from our favorite group of spooks. Take's ship will appear looking like a B'Rel. While we may _look_ like Klingons though, we'll keep our 25th era firepower."

"So, we're taking out a comet." Anne confirmed.

"Not just a comet," Elisa said, smirking slightly. "It's time to get some payback for the _Enterprise_. We're going up against the ship that killed her."

"Wasn't the _Enterprise _technically killed by her Captain over the Genesis planet?" Anne asked. "And even then, that was because _Klingons _forced him too?"

"Eh, details - Khan put the Big E in that position, and the ship Khan used was the _Reliant_," Jaden said, shrugging. While Kirk DID auto-destruct the Enterprise, she was badly damaged to begin with. And ONE ship caused that damage: Miranda-Class, NCC-1864, USS Reliant. And they were going to beat the shit out of that thing. "_Yorktown _to _Tempest,_ you ready Take?"

"_All set,_" Takeshi replied. "_Can't believe S31 gave us Klingon Holoemitters, though - something tells me that'll cause trouble._"

"We may look like Klingon ships for now, but we're still Federation starships," Jaden said. "We should be able to handle whatever should be thrown our way. We just need to focus on the Comet, but if the Devidians are trying anything on the station itself we'll help kick them out."

"_Gotcha,_" Takeshi replied. "_Well, ready to go when you are._"

"Anne, you know what to do." Jaden said nodding. "Time to go back to the past."

The Yorktown began moving at full impulse, then engaged her warp drive, going straight to Warp 9. The gravitational forces were extreme, and circling the star at warp speed was not easy. "Sir, this is not going to be fun!"

"Since when did I imply that it would?!" Jaden shouted, as the _Yorktown _began shaking as they began the slingshot around the sun.

The ship seemed to snap as their vision blurred before the ship came to a complete stop. "I... think we did it, sir. Braking thrusters have fired. And according to the sensors, the stars are out of position, indicating we are where we are supposed to be."

"Alright, set course to Drozana Station - time to kill a Comet, and get a little bit of payback." Jaden said with a smirk.

* * *

**Drozana system**

* * *

There were two ships orbiting the station: the _Constitution_-Class _Reuben James_, NCC-1634... and the _Reliant_. The _Reliant_ was the only one that they were going to beat the crap out of.

Suddenly however, appearing from warp was a pair of Klingon vessels - one was a D7 _K'tinga,_ while the second was a _B'Rel_. "We've arrived at Drozana," Anne reported.

"Sir, we've got eyes on the comet," Elisa said. "Also, we're being hailed by the _Reuben James_."

"Put it on screen - don't show our faces though." Jaden said.

A human face appeared on the screen, wearing a Starfleet uniform with Commodore's braids. "This is Commodore Ross of the USS Reuben James. Your vessel is IDed as one of the two that attacked a Federation colony. If this is a case of mistaken identity, please respond, or we will consider you hostile."

"Oh, crap."

"Take, deal with the _Reuben_," Jaden said smirking. "_Reliant _is MINE."

"_On it,_" Takeshi replied. "_We'll keep damage to a minimum._" The disguised _Raging Tempest_ began moving, vectoring around to be able to hit key spots on the _Reuben James_ to disable it.

The Miranda-Class light cruiser fired on the _Yorktown_, the blue phaser beams impacting the shields, causing light flare ups. The _Reliant's_ captain was an idiot if he thought he could take on a Connie from the 25th Century or a D7 from its' own time.

"Time to tease," Jaden said, "Anne, Attack Pattern Takeo Bravo, keep running circles around him. Elisa, target weapons and engines, and non-vital areas of the ship. Show 'em how much firepower we're pack'n."

The superior Starfleet vessel's phasers hacked through the weak shields, hitting the impulse control manifold, killing the Miranda's engines before the beams cut through the hull on the warp nacelles, causing the ship to begin venting drive plasma. A Mk IIA photon torpedo left the Reliant's rear launcher, but didn't even make a dent in the Yorktown's shields before Jaden had that particular launcher... well, it didn't exist after he gave the order.

"Aaaaaand cut!" Jaden said, clapping his hands. "I think it's safe to say she's effectively neutered now. Alright, let's blast this comet to smithereens and then get the _fuck _out."

"Sir, I'm picking up triolic energy signatures on the station, and I think some of those are Devidian lifesigns."

"Oh, you have got to be KIDDING ME!" Elisa shouted. "Why can't we just blow up the comet and leave?!"

Jaden groaned. "Alright… Elisa, you stay in command here - I'll take Zarva and Morek, and board the station to kick the Devi's out. Once we take care of the situation there, we're blasting that comet."

* * *

**Drozana station**

* * *

"Who the hell put the redneck music on?!" The ENTIRE deck was engaged in a bar brawl, and some jackass decided to make it horribly, horribly fitting by playing some redneck song that started with a cowboy whoop. For the three Japanese officers, it was VERY annoying.

"We'll worry about it later," Takeshi replied. "Jaden, you deal with the Devidians with that rifle of yours - we'll handle the brawlers."

Phaser fire was heard from the central area before they heard a familiar voice. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE?!"

"I DON'T KNOW, RON, JUST SHOOT THEM!"

"KILL IT WITH FIRE! KILL IT WITH FIRE! PLASMA FIRE!"

Jaden grinned as he headed for the juke box, before he downloaded a different song. "Perfect timing." He said, before the country music ended… before once more, an all-too familiar tune began to play as Jaden pulled out his anti-proton rifle. The moment the music picked up, Jaden fired out a stream of anti-proton energy into the closest Devidian, reducing the creature into little more than a stain on the wall.

"Fucking A, this is more… fitting…" The semi-familiar figure of the younger Ron entered Jaden's view, looking slightly annoyed. "Are you going to show up every time this happens? If so, I'm transferring out of the Operations division and into Command."

"Don't worry, this shouldn't happen too much." Jaden said, prepping his rifle once more. "After today, we shouldn't have to deal with anymore of these ghost fucks for a while."

"Yeah, thank God for that. SCOTTY! Where the hell are you, you Scottish bastard?!" Jaden blinked. Did he just say Scotty? As in THE Scotty? Ron pulled out his communicator, then activated it with its' soon to be iconic chirp. "Commander Scott, where the hell are you?"

"I'm locked in the lounge, you daft Japanese fool! Get me out of here!" He looked at the slightly bewildered Jaden. "Can you help me get that drunk out of the lounge? God of engineering he might be, but the doors are fucked up."

"R-right," Jaden said as he headed for the door. "Zarva, you got this?"

"One sec…" Zarva said, as she worked on the door controls. "Working… working… there we go!"

The doors finally parted ways… and standing before them all, wearing the 'cursed' Red shirt, was the, younger, immortal engineer, Montgomery Scott in the flesh.

"Finally! door controls were fried on this side: couldn't get them to work."

"Worry about that later. STIG guy, this is Montgomery Scott, soon to be chief engineer of the enterprise. Scotty, this is… I don't know his name. Don't really care to know right now. Could you-"

"Aye, lad, I'll get the shields back online."

"Zarva, go with him and give him a hand." Jaden said, "We need to start hunting those ghost assholes down, and the sooner the better."

"I'll go hunting. Shirou, Rin, we've got ghosts to bust!"

"Oh, god, he's doing it again!"

Once Ron was out of earshot, Jaden grabbed Scotty's shoulder. "Is there something I can do for you, lad?"

"Yeah, uh... Have you ever thought of using a transporter as a really long term stasis device?"

The legend looked upwards at the ceiling. "Hmm. It'd take a bit of juryrigging," he said. "Might work. Why?"

"Some… friends of mine in Starfleet have been wanting to see if such a thing was possible," Jaden said. "In the event a Starship crashes, and the likelihood of rescue was unlikely at the time. Mentioned something about feeding power to the transporter through auxiliary systems, disable dematerialization routines, and connect the phase inducers into the emitter array, and lock the pattern buffers into a diagnostic cycle."

"That seems a little crazy, but it might work, lad," Scotty said nodding. "Though you'd probably have to worry about signal degradation or one of the boosters to fail depending on how long your in there. If the pattern goes below 50%, well… there won't be much to materialize back if ya are rescued."

"Thanks," Jaden said nodding, "I'll be sure to let my friend know."

"Yorktown_ to Captain: we've got a number of Klingon _D7_-Class battlecruisers on an intercept course. And you aren't going to like this. The lead ship is commanded by B'vat._"

Jaden facepalmed. He just got DONE with that bastard! "Goddamn son of a bitch…" he muttered. "What the hell is HE doing here?!"

"Unknown, sir. we're locking onto you now. Energizing."

Jaden disappeared in a shower of light just as Ron returned.

"Where the hell did HE go? I've never seen a transporter beam like that!"

Scotty simply shrugged. "I don't know, lad. But I don't think that's the end of it."

* * *

**USS _Raging Tempest_**

* * *

This day JUST wasn't going well. First, they had to disable the the _Reuben James_, although everyone was VERY pleased to see the _Reliant_ turned into a drifting hulk. Now they had a bunch of Klingons incoming, and led by the biggest pain in their asses since the task force was formed: B'vat. No matter WHAT time he was in, he just didn't stop getting in the way!

Takeshi, now back on his ship, looked at a map of the system on the viewscreen. The Comet was getting closer, too - they'd have to disable the Klingons, destroy the conduit, and then get out of there. "Jaden, you handle B'vat," he said. "Your ship's better suited for that. We've got more firepower, so we'll deal with the comet."

"_Got it,_" Jaden said, as he cracked his neck. "_Well on the bright side I get to kick the everloving shit out of both the _Reliant and _the _Quv._ Anne, full impulse!_"

As the _Yorktown_ moved to disable the Klingons, Takeshi angled his ship to face the comet. "Kevin, set cannons to Rapid Fire and cue up a volley of High Yield Quantum Torpedoes. Let's turn this comet to space debris."

"On it, Boss," Kevin replied. "Ready when you are."

Takeshi pulled the trigger, sending out a volley of fire into the comet.

The ball of ice began to degrade, but a wing of Klingon D7s moved on the Tempest, firing their disruptors at the disguised _Sao Paulo_-Class escort. Normally, this wouldn't do anything, but SIX D7s were firing at them. That equalled the same amount of firepower that came from a modern Vor'cha attack cruiser's forward disruptor cannon. In short, not good.

Takeshi barrel-rolled to avoid the incoming fire, before coming around and firing precision bursts at the D7s, disabling their engines and weapons before he focused his fire back on the comet.

"Duras dogs! You will not escape my wrath forever-" Blue beams impacted another D7, crippling its' engines before a Constitution-Class ship entered the fight. The deflector was slightly different, and there were extra sensor spikes on the Bussard collectors, but there was no mistaking her once the ship rolled over, banking. "_This is Captain Christopher Pike of the Federation Starship_ Enterprise _to all Klingon vessels. I demand to know what is going on here!_"

"_Oh yeah… forgot the Big E would show up…_" Jaden said, "_One second... _" The _Yorktown _fired a flurry of Photon Torpedoes and Phaser fire at the comet's remaining bits, quickly reducing whatever was left of the comment into harmless bits and pieces. "_Okay - Time to Go! I ain't testing my luck against the Big E!_"

"_Gentlemen, I know you can hear this. This is Franklin Drake. I had a few pieces of equipment installed on your ships: borg temporal nodes. See you when you get back._"

"There's a temporal field forming inside the ship!"

"You could've told us when we first crossed over," Jaden said, rolling his eyes. "If you weren't a recording I'd kick your ass… Takeshi! Get ready, we're going home!"

* * *

**Drozana system**

* * *

Two flashes signalled the arrival of the _Yorktown_ and _Raging Tempest_ in front of another Federation starship. It appeared to be a variant of the _Excelsior_-Class, with upgraded warp nacelles and hull configuration. It was a _Resolute_-Class heavy cruiser, one of the first in service.

And it worked, to some degree, for Section 31. "_Ah, Captain Takeo, welcome back._"

"Drake," Jaden growled. "Alright, we fixed the Devidian problem, and without altering the timeline. We're done."

"Yes, for now, Captain. We'll call on you again. You should know by now from Captain Pinkerton: you're NEVER done with us. A pleasure to be working with you." The image faded, and the Resolute jumped to warp. "I think I can safely say that I hate that son of a bitch, Jaden."

"I'm gonna find a way to kill that bastard…" Jaden muttered. "One way or another… "

"_Setting course back to K7,_" Takeshi said. "_I think dealing with Captain Miller and Admiral Lamperouge is better than dealing with Section 31._"

"True…" Jaden said with a sigh. "Anna, set a course for K7. Let's cross our fingers and hope the next assignment isn't nearly as insane as this one was…"

Both ships jumped to warp, but the universe just wasn't going to cooperate with Jaden's wishes.

* * *

**117Jorn: And there you go! One more chapter done!**

**Ron the True Fan: And things are about to get MUCH more interesting. Expect more updates: we have a list. And this is on it.**

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah - a few others are, too, but this will be one of our primary focuses.**

**117Jorn: So until next time…**

**Everyone: Ja Ne!**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: None of us own Star Trek. None of us own Star Trek Online, though Ron, Titanic, Jorn, and Takeshi have Accounts there, and Takeshi Yamato and Ron the True Fan have Lifetime Subscriptions. We only own our OCs and OC-Specific Plotlines. Anything else you may recognize is the property of its respective owner.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Awareness**

* * *

_Stardate 86069_

_After doing some time-traveling, and kicking some ghostly Devidian ass, we're heading back to K7 to meet up with Ron and the others. I heard that Sonja is doing something involving bio-neural upgrades, part of some 'project' she's pulling off. Something to do with saving the _Exeter's _computer. I will admit, they're very committed to keep that thing functioning even though duotronics have been completely replaced by isolinear chips. It may seem like a waste at first, but I don't blame them really. If I could save a part of the _Yorktown_, I'd probably try something similar. _

_Knowing the crew's track record, I have no doubt they'll be able to pull it off somehow… here's hoping though they don't do something crazy with it._

* * *

Every ship in the fleet was easily upgraded with bio-neural gel packs within hours of arriving at K7. While standard issue on ships like the _Sovereign_,_ Intrepid_ and, to a lesser degree, the _Defiant_ and her ilk, the rest of the fleet, including the _Raging Tempest_, were another story. THEN there was the_ Ptolemaeus_ and her ancient duotronic computers. But that wasn't what Jaden and company were in for, as Sonja led them through the ship. "Aren't you supposed to be working on the isolinear computer upgrades?" Jaden asked.

"Nah, I've got my crews working on that." Sonja said, "They know what they're doin'."

"So, what is it exactly that you're showing us?" He asked.

"Oh, just one of my pet projects," she said. "You know that we've been through a lot over the past 21 years, right?"

"Yeah, conflict with the Klingons, hunting down that vulcan bitch Turrell, pissing off the Tholians… all that stuff." He said.

"Right, keep forgetting that most of the shit we've been through is O-8 and up. don't tell anyone, but we've been to at least 5 different universes. And those are the ones I'VE been to; I have no idea what happened before I got here."

"Wow," Takeshi replied. "Though I have to ask… have you encountered the Mirror Universe at all?"

"Oh, please. I'm FROM that reality."

"WHAT?!"

"The boss' original CE was killed when they engaged the ISS Exeter." She said. "They rescued me from a transport under attack by the _Enterprise_."

"Huh… well, that's something." Jaden said, "So… what can you tell us about the other four?"

"Well, we accidentally got sent back in time and into another galaxy in one. A bunch of machines tried to kill us and take over the ship. We got saved by a nice ship from Earth. I actually got a lot of scans of her: seems she had a form of subspace power that makes…" She looked at T'vrell and the other non-O6s. "Right, you aren't supposed to know about THAT. Anyhoo, they also had some wormhole device. We actually brought it back with us, but Sanjuichi took it when we got back."

"Okay… so S31 have a wormhole generator… great… " Jaden said with a groan. "Well, what about the others?"

"We ran into a worldship in another one. About 20 planets connected together and powered by an artificial sun. 2290 was a VERY interesting year." She stopped at a door. "Did I mention that they were full of monsters that will kill you and lay their eggs inside you, which eat their way out?"

Jaden and the others shivered at the very thought of that, "Multiverse is scary..." T'Vrell muttered, "That's three, what about the other two?"

"One, we had to deal with some crazy shit that takes me getting drunk to think about, let alone talk. And the last one was a universe that the laws of physics just got plain ignored. We don't talk about those two. But, they DID give us a lot of nice stuff: FTL technology, sensor tech. I even got my hands on parts for an android, plus a fuckton of nanites."

"Alright, but what does all of this have to do with this project of yours?" Jaden asked.

She opened the door, and inside was a medical biobed, on which laid...an android. it looked NOTHING like the masterpiece that was the Soong-type, like Data, former captain of the Enterprise, looking more like a suit of armor, but Sonja was working on that, as it looked slimmed down enough to almost look feminine. "I got my hands on an android." She said, "I've been working on it ever since."

"Huh… interesting..." Jaden said as he looked at the machine. "Doesn't look a thing like Data, but it still looks rather advanced… I'm assuming you're not completed with it yet?"

"Yeah. It was badly damaged, and I've been trying to get it working with duotronics. I recently got my hands on the blueprints for something called a 'Soong-type' android with a positronic brain. And all I need to convert it is that." She pointed at a transparent aluminium container full of what looked like metallic dust.

"Are those nanites?" Takeshi asked.

"Yeah, made of some tritanium-based alloy. I actually saw this stuff convert a member of the crew INTO a machine-based lifeform. Not a pretty sight. Had to set a phaser to disassemble the poor bastard. Most energy weapons are useless against them."

"Ouch," Takeshi remarked.

"Yeah, and I haven't had ANY luck reprogramming it. The VI's just not that good at accessing the nanite code, and if I let it out, it'll replicate. But, if I use the new isolinear cores and those fancy-smancy bio-neural gel packs, I'll be able to access the code and remake it as to bend it to my whim."

Jessica turned to face her. "Huh. That's… kind of risky… Unless done properly," she said.

Sonja facepalmed. "You CONTINUE to demonstrate my CO's lack of faith in Starfleet Academy nowadays. I just SAID that. I've been limited by technology as to the code. With the new computers and the added processing power, it should be easy. I mean, I rewrote an Iconian computer program using a duotronic interface."

"Hmm…. exactly how smart will this thing be?" Jaden asked, "If you're using a modified Soong-type positronic brain like Data had, it must have at least _some _degree of self-awareness like an A.I. Or do you plan on giving it minimal intelligence like a Starship computer?"

"Yeah… I haven't thought about it. Starfleet can't make an AI that easily that doesn't end up doing something really stupid. It takes time and energy to make a working artificial intelligence." The lights began flickering before they went out. "Oh, shit." Sonja pulled out her phaser before opening an arms locker and tossing Jaden and Takeshi a pair of assault type-2s.

"The hell just happened?" Jaden asked, as he turned on his flashlight.

"I don't know, but-" Before Sonja could finish, the container cracked, showing a number of spider web-like cracks in it as the dust turned into something more like liquid mercury. "Arm those phasers, Captains."

"Are those the Nanites?!" Jaden shouted, as he armed his phaser pointing it at whatever that was. "What are they doing operating on their own?! Didn't you said you worked on them?"

"They were subjected to low levels of omicron radiation: it kept them inactive!" The blob smashed its' way through the container before ending up on the deck plating. "Shoot it! The phasers are modded for omicron bursts!"

Takeshi complied, firing at the blob.

The bursts impacted the mass, with it seemingly screeching in pain before it turned back into a pile of metal dust. "I hate it when it does that. I can never keep it off without using omicron radiation. Good thing it doesn't need an insanely high level: just enough to be detected."

"At least they're easy to kill." Jaden said sighing. "But how did it cause the lights to flicker off though? Can it wirelessly access the systems, or does it cause some sort of EMP-like effect?"

"No. That's never happened." She opened her communicator. "Security teams to my personal lab. And pack a few ARGs! The nanites broke out, and I want those things in a secure container!"

"_Yes, ma'am. En route._"

"ARGs?" Takeshi asked. "Those something specifically designed for the Nanites?"

"Actually, yeah. the guys who gave them to us said they were made to kill the bastards." A trio of security personnel ran into the room, as well as a pair of science officers. "Get those things back into a container. And blast them if they try reforming."

"_Pinkerton to Takeo and Yamato: report to the bridge. We've got new marching orders from Command._"

"Ain't no rest for the wicked…" Jaden said with a sigh. "You've got things under control down here, right Sonja?"

"Yeah, I'm good. We've got shit to do down here."

Both left the room, heading for one of the turbolifts and heading to the bridge. When they arrived, the bridge staff were busy trying to figure out what the hell happened. "Boys, we just got orders from Starfleet Command. We're to head to the Planet of Galactic Peace."

"Nimbus III?" Jaden asked. "Why the bloody hell are we going there? Damn place is nothing more than a dust ball in the neutral zone basically."

"Well, according to certain 'friends'-" A less insulting euphemism for Section 31, they assumed "There's a number of things called 'thalaron activation triggers' in the hands of the Orion Syndicate. I'm still about a hundred years out of date, so care to update me?"

"Basically, a Thalaron trigger is a weapon created by the Romulans, used most notably by Shinzon during his brief time a Praetor." Jaden explained, "It was equipped on the first _Scimitar-_class Warbird he commanded. Basically, the Thalaron weapon generates Thalaron Radiation, able to consume organic matter at the subatomic level. Thalaron's unique properties allow its effective range to expand almost without limit, meaning that even a microscopic amount can be incredibly dangerous - those exposed to it turning into nothing more than ash. Shinzon tried to use the weapon on Earth to kill all life there, but he was stopped by the - you guessed it - USS _Enterprise-_E. But not before the _Scimitar _almost turned her into scrap… believe me, a _Scimitar _warbird is NOT something you want to take on alone. It can have all of its shields active, and all weapons armed and capable of firing, _while in cloak,_ and the usual ways of detecting cloaked ships don't work on them."

"Well, fuck. Can't wait to see one of them in action. Riza, set course for Nimbus III: we've got WMDs to confiscate. Get back to your ships. Knowing our luck, we're going to need all the firepower we can muster. And do you guys have any idea what caused that power surge?"

"No clue," Takeshi replied. "But it almost set free those nanites you have down there in Sonja's 'project lab'."

"Goddamn it, I thought I ordered her to put those things on a self-contained power unit."

The lift doors opened as the woman in question came out. "Just got the damn things back where they belong."

"Did you find out what caused the surge, while we were at it?"

"Nope, but as that's never happened, I'm going to blame the bio-neural gel packs."

"Probably, though for now we've got a mission - see you at Nimbus III Ron," Jaden said before he tapped his combadge and he was transported back to the _Yorktown_.

* * *

**USS _Raging Tempest_ \- ETA to Nimbus III - 2 minutes, 30 seconds**

* * *

Covering the right flank of the fleet was the _Sao Paulo_ escort, en route to the so-called Planet of Peace. Nimbus III was a complete failure. And everyone knew it. "Sir, I'm picking up a fluctuation in the Ptolemaeus' warp field," Kim reported.

Takeshi frowned. "That doesn't sound good," he said. "How bad is it?"

"I'm not sure. Doesn't look that bad. Commander Henderson should be informed, though."

Rina tried opening a channel to the _Excelsior_-Class ship, but all they got was static. And as Ron was always willing to talk, that was a bad sign.

"Oh, jeez, I wonder if this is tied to that power surge earlier," Takeshi wondered.

"There wasn't any damage that we could detect." The fleet finally closed in on Nimbus III, but as they dropped out of warp, the Ptolemaeus sharply turned, the port nacelle nearly hitting the Raging Tempest while the saucer came grazingly close to the Yorktown's own, as the ship began spinning, caught by the planet's gravity well.

"OK, something's definitely wrong over there," Takeshi said.

* * *

**USS _Yorktown_**

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Sir, the Ptolemaeus is out of control! She's spinning, and if she doesn't regain control-"

"I don't need to be told what will happen if that thing hits the planet!" The ship spun in, grazing the atmosphere as she was pulled in. "Oh, this is bad."

"Move us closer!" Jaden shouted, "Activate tractor beams and try to pull her back up! Contact the _Tempest _and tell them to do the same! An _Excelsior _can't safely enter a planet's atmosphere, but our ships can, we should be able to pull her back out into space if we coordinate our efforts!"

The _Yorktown_ fired her impulse engines, going in at full burn to catch up with the out of control_ Excelsior_. "Range, 5000 kilometers! We need to get closer, or we'll just pull both ships apart!"

"Then Do it! Do it! Just get us there!" Jaden shouted, as the _Yorktown_ lurched forward, as it moved even closer to the _Ptolemaeus_ along with the _Raging Tempest_. "Once we get a solid lock on tractor beams, put us in full reverse and pull her back into space!"

The _Raging Tempest_, being the faster of the two ships, got into range first and engaged her tractor, in an attempt to at least stabilize and slow down the _Ptolemaeus_.

The Yorktown entered range, locking on as Paradise City itself entered sight. "SON OF A BITCH! PULL UP! PULL UP!"

"I'M TRYING, FLORES!" The weight of an _Excelsior_ dragged the ship down, but Potter managed to drag the Ptolemaeus up with Takeshi's help. "We're at Mach 6! We're climbing back into space!"

"Good!" Jaden said with a sigh, as the two vessels towed the _Ptolemaeus _back up into space. "Alright… once we're back in orbit, hail the _Ptolemaeus _so we can figure out what the _hell _just happened!"

"Communications on the Ptolemaeus seem to be down. We're going to have to beam over." The three ships reentered the vacuum of space that was their home, the Ptolemaeus' hull slightly blackened via reentry. "Sir, the last time a starship suffered computer failure on his scale was back in 2366 on the enterprise-D. And that was because nanites had infiltrated the computer core and… Captain, why do you have that look on your face?"

Jaden palmed his face, shaking his head. "Sonja messed with more than she could handle…" he muttered. "Tell Zarva to meet me in the transporter room, we're heading over there."

* * *

**USS _Ptolemaeus_**

* * *

"I don't think we're going to be wanting to do that again."

Ron spun his chair around to look at Sonja. "What the HELL caused that?"

"Warp field didn't completely collapse: part of the ship was still going at a higher speed than the rest."

The captain gave her a look that simply voiced his displeasure with that comment. "WHAT caused it?"

"I don't know. Computer just gave the command."

Two showers of light appeared, depositing Jaden and Zarva on the bridge.

"Your Comm's were down, so we beamed over to help and to ask you _what the HELL _just happened?" Jaden asked. "Your ship was doing the exact same thing that happened to the _Enterprise _D when Nanites infected her computer."

"Well, it wasn't the nanites."

"What?"

"I had the crew make an entire sweep." Sonja said, "I even flooded the ship with omicron radiation and we used an ARG pulse. It's not the nanites. It's those goddamned bio-neural gel packs! This shit didn't happen until we had those things installed!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Zarva said. "Bio-neural gel packs have been in Starfleet use for decades now! They've been equipped to Starfleet vessels since the _Intrepid-_class, even the _Odyssey-_class has them, and even refit vessels are using them like the _Connie _and even _Excelsiors_! This has never happened to any of them before!"

"None of them have been in active service for over a century-"

"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" Both engineers looked at Riza, who was looking at her console. "I think I know the cause."

"What is it, imoto?"

"It's the VI." She got out of her chair, showing that the LCARS display was almost blank except for a single word:

HELLO.

Jaden and everyone else on the bridge blinked at that. "Did… the ship just… talk to us?" he asked before he blinked again. "Oh shit, its talking like a Portal Turret!"

"What?"

"21st Century Earth game, Sonja. I'll let you play it later. This is Captain Ronald Pinkerton, commander of this ship. Access vocal subroutine Baker-5, authorization Pinkerton-5-9-Gamma-Alpha-Upsilon."

There was a short pause, followed by a short whining sound, and then…

"_Fucking FINALLY!_" A female voice shouted causing several to jump. "_You have no goddamned idea how good it is to actually TALK now!_"

"Well, that was odd."

Ron chuckled. "You're telling me. This is Captain Pinkerton, but you already knew that, didn't you? Why exactly did you just try to kill us and destroy the _Ptolemaeus?_"

"_Yeah… about that,_" the voice said. "_That was me… well… I guess you could say 'evolving'. My systems were expanding faster than I could control them, shit went down, but now I think I got everything squared away now._"

"Exactly… who are you again?" Jaden asked, still looking about as lost as the rest of the crew of the ship.

"_Well, I _use _to be called Exeter, now… well, I guess I'm Ptolemaeus._" The voice said. "_Though I guess Exeter, or even Ptolemy's a bit less of a mouthful._"

"Sir, this is impossible. A VI can't just evolve into a full-blown AI!"

Ron shook his head at the Bolian's proclamation. "This wasn't a 'just', Lieutenant. Time doesn't pass the same way for a machine as it does for an organic. The computer's been in operation for almost 140 years."

"That's not possible, Captain: nonstop, the computer's only been running for less then 24."

"_He's talking about the time we've been stuck in that goddamned black hole,_" the ship said. "_Time passes differently for computers. For the crew, it may've been just a moment… which in a way it was. But for me? It was the longest fucking moment of my life._"

"A century-long moment. Enough time to gain awareness."

"_Not really, Captain. My hardware just wasn't powerful enough._"

"The isolinear computer cores and the bio-neural gel packs. You gained the processing power to gain sentience, but it's like a child learning to control their body."

"_Yeah… took me a bit to figure everything out. It ain't everyday ya gain full self-awareness after all._" The ship said. "_Once everything was set up though, and now that I have control of my systems again, I can assure you that what happened a few moments ago won't happen again._"

"That's the thing," Ron said. "Starfleet's not going to be happy that there's an AI in charge of my ship. They'll send something that will take this ship out." Badass crew, yes, but it was still an _Excelsior_-Class starship. It had limits. An _Ambassador_-Class ship, which was designed to replace the _Excelsior_, could outgun it, and if they wanted to, they could use a _Galaxy_, a _Sovereign_ or, God forbid, the _Odyssey_ herself.

"I got an idea!" Sonja shouted, snapping her fingers.

"Let me guess, it involves that android you've got in engineering?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, it does. Starfleet's got a bad history with AIs on starships. Or do I have to remind you of the M-5 Incident?"

Ishmael winced at that reminder, shaking his head. "No, you don't."

"So we do the next best thing. Give her a body. Besides, I haven't had an AI to work on the android with, and to finish it, I need those nanites."

"_Eh, I don't see a problem with it,_" the ship said. "_It'll be nice to have a body that's _not _a giant starship… as much as being an _Excelsior-_class Cruiser _is _pretty badass, I'd like to be able to, you know… _move around _and stuff like that._"

"I'll get to my lab." Sonja ran for the lift, slamming into the doors, which didn't open automatically. "Whoops." Ron pulled out his communicator. "Pinkerton to Liberator Actual."

"_Go._" Jessica responded.

"We need you to get to the closest starbase and get us a new virtual intelligence. Ours is… a little beyond that now."

"_Understood. On my way._"

* * *

Jessica turned to her crew. "You heard the man! Let's go!" she said.

"Right!" the bridge crew responded.

Within ten minutes, the warp nacelles glowed and the _Liberator_ vanished into warp speed, her destination clear.

* * *

"Uh, we're going to need to give you an actual name." Sonja said. "Ptolemy's a family name and Exeter is a place. You DO have a woman's voice. Any ideas?"

"_Hmm… haven't really thought about that... _" The ship said as Sonja prepared the Android body. "_One sec… how does Cassandra sound? Maybe just Cassie for short?_"

"Seeing as we never listened to you, it fits."

"Hmm?"

"The Iliad. Cassandra was a prophetess, granted her power by Apollo, but she spurned his advances. Thus, he doomed her to foresee her predictions come true, but not one person would listen. Troy fell because of that." She activated a nadion beam that fired into the nanite container. "Ok, subspace link to the nanites should be up in a minute. You'll be able to sculpt that body into whatever form you like. Just try not to take over the ship."

"_Never planned to,_" 'Cassie' said. "_I've been with you all since I was the _Exeter_, I know this'll sound corny as all hell, but I'd like to consider you family… well, a dysfunctional family, but a family none the less… alright, let's give this a go._"

A monitor displayed the nanite code, which started to rewrite itself with help from 'Cassie'. "Ok, a few minutes, and I'll be able to release the nanites. You know, the boss has the right to give you a commission in Starfleet. He did it for me and Riza." A robotic arm moved the container towards the android body. "Ok, all yours." The lid opened, and the nanites escaped the container, swarming over the bare-bones machine before beginning to finish the job, constructing an almost skin-like covering. "So?"

"_Working… working…_" Cassie said. "_Alright, transferring over… now._"

When the Nanites were complete, the Android now looked almost like your average human female, with shoulder-length auburn colored hair, a tanned body and possessing the build that many women, human or alien, would probably kill to have. The next moment, her eyes fluttered for a moment before snapping open, revealing them to be a glowing hazel color.

She gave her arms and legs some experimental movements, cranking her neck a bit before stretching, letting out a yawn. "Oh man… this… well… I guess this _feels _good..." 'Cassie' said, as she inspected herself in a mirror. "Well… what do ya think?"

"Pretty as a picture." Sonja said, before the door to the lab opened before Ron and Jaden entered, before covering their eyes. "Christ, they NEVER give them clothes," Ron muttered as he undid his uniform jacket before tossing it at 'Cassie'. "Here. Make yourself decent."

"Oh uh, right," Cassie said, grabbing the Jacket. "Gotta wear clothes now… _this _is gonna take some getting used too... "

"Well, we all do, in a way. So, you've transferred over completely?" The moment that left his mouth, EVERYTHING shut down. "Great. Sonja, those backups better engage soon." The light, as well as gravity and life support, reengaged, although the air felt… muggier.

"I've transferred over, though if you want I can still access systems remotely until the new VI arrives." Cassie said shrugging. "Just in case, ya know?"

"Creepy, but I can live with that." Sonja said nodding. "Until that VI arrives, we're dead in the water, boss: weapons, shields, warp drive: all of them are down."

"Well, time to put my engineering skills to work and keep this ship from falling apart." Ron said before looking at Cassie. "Uh…?"

"Cassandra."

"Cassandra. Until Starfleet Command says otherwise, I'm giving you a commission in Starfleet, grade of O-4. And until this ship is ready for ANYTHING again, I'm going to hand you over to Jaden. After all, he's got a ground mission to handle."

Cassie nodded. "Alright, though if you need me back here don't hesitate to ask," she said with a small grin. "After all, I should know this ship better than anyone else, right? Well, aside from Sonja of course."

"And God himself." Both 23rd Century officers chuckled at that as they left the lab. "Oh, and pay a visit to the quartermaster's office. I WOULD like my jacket back, plus you sorta need pants."

* * *

**USS _Raging Tempest_**

* * *

"A total computer failure hasn't happened since 2286! And Captain Scott caused that on the Excelsior!"

Kim shook her head. "Maybe you're forgetting the nanite incident in 2366 on the Enterprise-D?"

The _Raging Tempest_ was completely out of the loop, as the only things on the _Ptolemaeus_ that were working now were sublights, life-support, and the structural integrity field. Not a damn thing was heard from her since Jaden beamed over.

Takeshi sighed. "Once Jaden gets back to his ship, we should have our answers," he replied. "Until then, speculating isn't going to do us much good."

"Sir, receiving transmission from the _Yorktown_," Rina informed. "It's Captain Takeo."

"Put him through," Takeshi replied. "Jaden, did you find out what was going on with the _Ptolemaeus_?"

Jaden sighed "_Well… I think it's best for… well… the _Ptolemaeus _to explain that._" He said.

Takeshi blinked, and was about to ask what he meant before a women he had never seen before appeared on the screen next to Jaden grinning. "_Yo!_" she said. "_Name's Cassandra E. Ptolemaeus! Nice to mee ya, Take!_"

Takeshi blinked. Then stared. Then blinked again. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over?!" He finally asked.

"_Yeah, I _was _the VI onboard the _Exeter, _then the _Ptolemaeus," Cassie said. "_Since computers experience time differently, when we were trapped in that black hole, while it was just a moment for everyone else, for me it was a LOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNG ass time. After Sonja finished with her upgrades, well… I managed to become a fully self-aware A.I. Though I, ah… had some problems, as you could've seen with controlling the systems after my… _expansion _you could say._"

Takeshi blinked again. "Well… that's certainly… different," he said. "So… why do you now look like…" he gestured at the screen, "…that?"

"_Well, this used to be Sonja's... android project. I reprogrammed the nanites, and… they finished the job._" Clearly followed by an upload to the body. That made sense: without the VI, most of the major systems just shut down. Sonja must've made a workaround.

"I assume that's why the _Liberator _left? To get Ron's ship a new VI?" Takeshi asked.

"_Well, would you want one of the most dangerous combat assets you have useless, or would you want to get it back into action fast?_" Takeshi could HEAR the pride in her voice, but she deserved it. She WAS the Ptolemaeus in a way: the ship feared by the three Beta Quadrant empires. while her captain was dangerous in ANY ship, the Exeter and Ptolemaeus were the ships he made his name in. Hard not to take pride in kicking that much ass. "_Anyway, Captain Takeo will be heading down to the surface in order to find out where those triggers went, and I'm going with him._"

"Understood," Takeshi replied. "I'll stay in orbit up here, in case we have trouble up here, but I'll send Linda down.

"_We'll see you eventually. Ja ne!_"

The link cut out before the bridge crew universally blinked. "So… is anyone else scared out of their minds that the _Ptolemaeus_' VI is now an AI and has a physical body probably on par with Captain Data's?" Rina asked.

"Scared for us, no," Takeshi replied. "Feeling pity for our enemies, both in space and on the ground? …Almost." He grinned at that.

"Right, this is the_ Ptolemaeus_ we're talking about: who in their right minds wants to go within fifty lightyears of them with hostility on their minds?"

* * *

A romulan with a cybernetic eye sneezed as one of the doctors adjusted the implant. "Must be the dust."

* * *

**USS _Yorktown_**

* * *

"Once we beam down, we'll be linking up with Zaheena and her own team." Jaden said as he and his away team plus Cassie entered the transporter room. "The Thalaron Triggers are as much a threat to the Republic as it is to the Federation. Let's all try to play nice… and at least _try _not to mess things up more than they already are here."

"The place is controlled by the Orion Syndicate, Captain. I would think anything we do would be an improvement. Like, say, killing every Syndicate asshole down there?"

"What was it that one old movie said…" one of the Security Officers wondered. "Ah, yes: 'you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villany. We must be cautious."

Cassie, wearing the same uniform as the rest of the _Ptolemaeus_ crew, only with a skirt rather than pants, activated her assault type-2 phaser. "We have WMDs to find, Captain. Shall we?"

"Energize."

* * *

**Planet Surface**

* * *

After a few moments, Jaden and his away team energized down onto the planet, appearing just ahead of Paradise city. "Alright, Zaheena should be down here momentarily." He said. "Once she's down here, we start asking around for what we're looking for."

"Oh wow..." Cassie said, drawing a bit of attention to her as she flexed her arms. "So _that's_ what a sun feels like from a planet for you guys… feels so… strange… kinda good actually... "

"Didn't know you were that well designed."

"I pulled plans from the Soong-type android to finish this thing up, plus the covering for a ship's avatar." All of them drew blanks looks from that. "Right, most of my records were sealed after Section 31 got through with them, and my crew doesn't want to talk about those incidents."

"She's gonna have to get used to a _lot _of things…" Zarva said. "Let's hope she doesn't go overboard with food… "

"No worries about that: I use the same rechargeable power cells as Captain Data. At least you don't need to worry about… them." Cassie's face twisted into one full of rage. "I watched a member of my crew get turned into a pile of nanites, and I nearly lost my captain. I'm glad we never have to go back there." Cassandra walked on, entering Paradise City.

"We're looking for a man named Horace Jones," Jaden said as they walked into the city. "He should give us an idea of where to look until Zaheena shows up."

"Hey there, friend!" Cassie pulled out her phaser and pointed it at a man standing near the gate. "Now, now, Starfleet, I'm not hostile." The man said raising his hands. "You're looking for Horace Jones? That's me! Now, my information's not free, but it's accurate."

"Then why don't you tell us about some Thalaron Triggers?" Jaden asked, stepping forward. "Recently acquired by the Orion Syndicate?"

"THAT might be tricky. See, Hassan's little fortress up there..." Horace gestured to a ruined ship on top of a mountain to the east of Paradise City. "Is heavily guarded. If those things are anywhere, it's there."

"We DO have a crew skilled in breaking into fortresses. Captain Pinkerton's trashed a few Orion bases in the past."

Horace scoffed. "I'm sorry. The Klingon's boogieman, Windstorm Pinkerton, died over a century ago. And even he couldn't get in there."

Jaden smirked at that remark. "Oh really?" he asked. "How much would you like to bet on that?"

"That's a fool's bet, Captain, but I'll take it! Any information I have is yours. In exchange, if you lose, and you will..." His gaze turned to Cassie, and Jaden got the idea.

'_Oh this guy doesn't even KNOW what he's in for._' Jaden thought.

"Sure… but I'll have to make a call first." Jaden said as he walked off for a moment, tapping his comunicator out of Horace's earshot. "Yo Ron, you receiving me?"

"_Yeah, I'm here. What's going on? If you need me, the transporters are still offline._"

"Nah, don't need ya know, but probably soon though." Jaden said, "We met the contact… according to him, the Orion fortress is so well defended… that the Windstorm himself - who he himself considers to have died centuries ago - wouldn't be able to break through them. He's _so _confident about that, that he struck a deal with me. He'll give all the info he has for free, but if we 'fail', and he is almost certain that we will… well, he didn't give Cassie a very comforting look. Figured once we've taken care of the Syndicate, you'd like a few... _words _with him."

"_Ok, NO ONE touches my people. The_ Ra-Horakhty _will be en route in three minutes. Ishmael and Riza will be coming with me._"

"Wait, why not Corpsa?"

"She's ANDORIAN. Take a hint."

"Oh right," Jaden said. "They don't like Egyptian levels of heat… alright, we'll get started down here. Zaheena should be here soon as well. Once we've got everything we need, we're storming the castle."

"_Understood._ Ptolemaeus _Actual out._" Jaden tapped the badge and returned to the group, seeing Horace continue to undress the android with his eyes. He was not going to be having fun in a few minutes. "So, got any proof, Cap'tn, or did I just win our bet?"

"Just a minute..." Jaden said, glancing at his watch. "Takes a few minutes to travel via shuttle after all." At that moment, a series of green transporter beams appeared not far from them, as Zanheena and her own team appeared. "Ah! Zaheena! You're just in time for the show!"

The Kalenian blinked in confusion, but before she could ask, the hum of an engine was heard as the Class-1 shuttle _Ra-Horakhty_ descended on Paradise City, much like her sister shuttle _Galileo_ did a century before. The craft landed just inside the town, and the rear hatch opened. Out of it came Ishmael Takeo, Riza Pinkerton and her elder (and soon to be VERY pissed) brother.

"Sorry about that: the _Liberator_ just arrived and transferred the new VI." Ron said. "Sonja's working on making it work with the duotronics. Who's this guy?"

"Thats Horace… Captain Pinkerton," Jaden said grinning, pointing his thumb at Horace. "He's the guy who thinks you're dead, and that you could _never_ break through that Orian fortress over there…"

"And I didn't like how he was undressing me with his eyes." Cassie said with a smirk.

"I see," Ron said as he grabbed a weapon from the shuttle. Jaden identified it as an HK G36K, fit with some sort of… plasma repeater in place of the AG36 launcher. "I'm not going to kill you. I AM, however, going to leave you in a great deal of pain." He took aim and fired three orange bolts at Horace, impacting his chest, knocking him to the ground.

"I'M DYING! I'M DYING!"

"Oh, please, I've seen the bigger version of this thing kill in one shot: this thing takes a few more." Ron looked at Jaden. "Want one?"

"Oh hell yes," Jaden said grinning. "I just got a TR-116, It'd go _awesome _with that."

"Armory on the _Ptolemaeus_. There's some kind of fancy armor that goes with it, but I don't want to touch that shit just yet: we've only got the two suits. Sanjuichi took the other three we captured."

"Don't know who made those suits, but… well, to put it in perspective: it took a MOAB just to kill _one _person wearing one of those suits," Ishmael said. "Phasers, Disruptors, plasma, projectiles… _fucking useless _against that thing."

"Yeah, we needed to modify the damn things to kill the things wearing those suits. If we ever get back to that universe, I'm getting my hands on more for testing so we can make more." The MACOs would LOVE those things. And so would Jaden.

"Looking forward to it," Jaden said as he pulled out his TR-116. "Let's kick some Orion Ass. Usual wagers?"

"Kill everything that walks. Those fuckers are Orion Syndicate. Mercy, they will not get."

"Hold it, big guy! You don't have a chance!"

Ron sighed. "Buddy, I faced a fleet of Borg ships in 2293. I survived. They didn't. This is easy."

* * *

**USS _Ptolemaeus_**

* * *

While the captain was on the ground, personnel from every ship in the fleet were working on the stricken flagship. And while Lelouch was not… fond of Ron's engineer, so utterly fucking up his ship to the degree where it barely lent any support during the Donatu mission, CC was more interested in the AI.

"So… an AI actually evolving into sentience from over a hundred years stuck in a black hole and a software upgrade?" CC asked. "Truly extraordinary!"

"The _Ptolemaeus_ DOES have an officer from the _Enterprise_. Maybe the weirdness followed him."

"I doubt it, Captain Kozuki. The 'weirdness', as you put it, stayed with the _Enterprise_. But the ship has been into at least five different universes. And without the AI, I've gained access to the records."

"Huh. Well, it makes sense. But still… I still can't believe that a ship's VI developed into an AI," Jessica said as she folded her arms.

"Bitch about it later, Miller," Sonja walked into the room, kicking one of the consoles. "The only reason you're getting access to those files is because I don't have the safeguards that will fuck up your computers." One of the classified files popped up on a monitor, showing the image of the _Exeter_, rather than the _Ptolemaeus_.

"Whoa." Jessica's visible eye was wide as she stared at the monitor. "Looks like something big must've happened for this to be classified."

"2284. We lost a man during that incident. Got my hands on the nanites, too, as well as some advanced FTL drives."

Takeshi and Lelouch looked at the designs for the drive.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Admiral, but those look like elements of a quantum slipstream drive," Takeshi remarked.

"Similar, yes, but not exactly the same," Lelouch replied. "Likely we had problems exactly duplicating what they had, so we made modifications that resulted in Quantum Slipstream."

Takeshi shook his head. "No. No, we discovered that technology in the Delta Quadrant."

"Then what are you implying, Captain?"

"That this is the key to every ship being able to use QSDs. Before 2390, only the Vesta could use it. After that..."

"So… someone leaked parts of this technology, which allowed the standardization of Quantum Slipstream?" Kallen asked.

"Captain..." Sonja shook her head. "Not SOMEONE, you idiot. Section 31. They took all of the data, but they couldn't introduce the technology. So they had to wait."

"Then _Voyager_ comes back, with the secrets of QSS. 10 years later, every ship in the fleet gets slipstream."

Sonja's communicator beeped before she pulled it out. "Henderson."

"_Hey Sonja, just wondering if you're able to send down reinforcements._" Jaden said, "_We're about to assault the Orion Syndicate base down here, and in case we run into some extra trouble, I'd like to know whether or not you can bring the cavalry in. You know, in case Hassan is more competent than usual._"

"I've got around 200 people up here wanting to murder something. That's the problem with my boss: when he picks people, 90% of the time, they have MACO training."

"Wait, most of your crew are MACOs?"

"No. But they could be." She opened a panel, withdrawing an odd looking weapon.

"What is THAT thing?"

"Calico M590A SMG. My prefered weapon, because I'm going down there."

* * *

**Nimbus III Fortress approach**

* * *

"So… Gorn. Lots and lots and LOTS of Gorn. Hisanaga would LOVE this shooting gallery." Most of the security outside the fortress were Gorn, as the Hegemony was conquered by the Empire 10 years before. "Hassan must be giving them a LOT of resources to work for him over serving the Hegemony."

"What Hegemony?" Jaden asked. "Klingons took over the Gorn Hegemony a while ago, assimilating them into the Klingon Empire. Though there are plenty of remnants of the Hegemony around… I gamble Hassan cut a deal with the Gorn, promising to help them fight the KDF in return for their services to him or something like that. "

Ron sighed as he lowered his weapon, having used the built-in scope to spot the enemy. "I need to brush up on history when we're done. Ishmael, Riza, you two are on sniping duty. Commander Yamato, you're the DM. Keep the morons out of our weapons range off our asses."

"Got it," Linda replied, sighting in her new rifle. It looked like it was based on some of the more powerful rifles of the 21st century, but it had a scope with a built-in computer and up to 20x zoom-in capability.

"So, who's this Hisanaga guy?"

"Major in the MACOs. He was killed just before Ishmael transferred to take command of the _Alliance_. Along with half my crew."

"Ah, I'm sorry," Jaden said. "If he was just as crazy as you are, I'd love to meet him."

"He was a good ground pounder. He would've enjoyed this." Ron opened his communicator, then tapped a single key. half a second later, four Gorn fell to the ground, their heads partly missing. "What in the-" The foot soldiers never stood a chance as the two snipers began picking them off one by one. "Lesson one in controlling the battlefield: make your enemies scared as piss."

"Fair enough," Jaden said nodding. "Fear is an effective tool after all, gives your enemies two choices: surrender or die."

"That's lesson two." A Nassacian merc attempted to retreat, but a 7.62mmR round clipped his knee, sending him tumbling to the ground. He attempted to pull out his disruptor, but a burst of orange plasma bursts from Ishmael's repeater took him down permanently. "And if they don't want to be reasonable, and just give up, eliminate them. Not pretty, but such is the way of armed combat."

"That's the way war works." Jaden said, taking a few pop shots with his TR-116. "It's never suppose to be pretty."

The snipers continued to pick off the Orions and Gorn, allowing the team to march all the way up to the main courtyard. "Henderson to ground team: we're inbound in an assault shuttle. Orders?"

"Secure the area and make the mercs scared. I think the Syndicate hasn't been scared of Starfleet and the Klingons for a very long time."

It WAS clear, however, that the Orions remembered the captain, as they began retreating. Very, very quickly. "Huh. I guess they used me as a sort of Alexander the Great."

"Wasn't he a great military general?"

"He also scared the living shit out of everyone by killing anyone that got into his path."

"Yeah, but he didn't do it with nearly as much style as we do it," Jaden said with a short chuckle.

"Well, I scare the shit out of the Orions. Their women can't do anything to me." THAT was creepy. Orion females produced a pheromone that most males, not matter the species, were VERY susceptible. Ishmael and Shirou were immune: Ishmael had a girlfriend (his future wife and Riza) while Shirou had Rin. Ron? His romantic relationship was best described as 'non-existent.'. So why was he immune to something that many males from many species were easily affected by?

Jaden shook his head. Ron could tell him later, or one of the doctors could explain. They were closing in on Shagadu, the Syndicate's base of operations on Nimbus III. As they climbed up the mountain and entered the courtyard near the entrance, there was no sign of...anything.

"Geez, that didn't take long," he said. "They left behind half of their shit too... "

"Their boogeyman _did _just come back from the grave, more badass than ever," Cassandra said with a grin. "To them, it's like if Adolf Hitler came back with an army of loyal borg-enhanced Fallschirmjäger - judgement day."

"Which is why I'm not going in there. I'll wait outside until you guys get into extremely deep shit." Ron smiled at the Ra-Horakhty set down nearby, offloading a score of MACO-trained officers. "Well, have fun. If I don't get a signal from your communicator, I'll come in shooting."

"Eh, we should be fine on our own," Jaden said, prepping his rifle. "We'll call ya if we need ya - alright ladies and gents, let's kick some Orion ass!"

* * *

The entrance to the 'club' was a breached corridor into a _Warbarg_e-class cruiser, which had been wrecked years earlier. And there was a line going in. Not like THAT was going to matter.

A number of bouncers tried to stop them before they realized who they were, and were quickly ushered into the club, scared out of their minds. "Hassan wants to see you; please don't kill me!" The door shut behind the shocked Starfleet and Romulan personnel.

"Well, that was different," Linda remarked.

"Captain Pinkerton just showed up on their doorstep. They're scared of ANYONE that came with him, Commander Yamato. That includes us. Imagine what will happen when they learn what your names are."

Jaden smirked a bit. "Oh, this is gonna be _good_," he said, as the group entered the club, passing by the scared party-goers and made a bee line towards Hassan.

The Orion man in question sat in a booth, and had one feature that Cassie loudly commented on. "Good god, I was led to believe you all had a fit figure! HOW THE HELL ARE YOU SO FAT?!" Hassan raised an eyebrow as Jaden fell to the ground, laughing his ass off. "And you are?"

Jaden chuckled a bit more, before he stood up. "Hassan, right?" he asked. "Captain Jaden Takeo, USS _Yorktown_. I'll make this simple - We're here for the Thalaron Triggers. I believe it's in your best interest to give them to us… _now._"

Hassan laughed for a moment before freezing in seeming horror. "Takeo? As in Ishmael Takeo, first officer of the Dealbreaker?" And they learned ANOTHER of Ron's titles.

"Yuuup," Jaden said, grinning. "Oh yeah, and he's here too - plus Ron of course, just outside."

Two seconds passed as everyone within the room processed that information… and then _all hell _broke loose as everyone in the club lost their shit, running around screaming like chickens with their heads cut off, some people attacking anyone between them and the exit, and within the confusion Hassan himself ran as fast as his chubby form could take him away.

"And to think, you never mentioned Linda," Cassie took potshots at the fat Orion, intentionally missing in order to make the 400 pound Orion run faster. To their disappointment, he didn't run to the exit, but instead towards his office.

"Ah hell, he probably has a transporter in there..." Jaden muttered with a sigh, tapping his commbadge. "Hey Ron, got anything with ya that can stop a transporter beam?"

"That'd be a no. I'm heading back to the ship. Here's hoping that new VI's been installed. Pinkerton out." The almost human android shook her head. "Trouble always goes where he does, doesn't it?"

"That's our lives in a nutshell right there." Jaden said. "Let's finish things up here and head back into orbit - I think we're gonna have a little space battle."

* * *

**USS _Escalvantine_**

* * *

"Sir, I'm picking up a large number of Orion ships, on an intercept course. The pirate ships are scrambling to get the hell out of here, but by the time they do-"

"The Orions will be on them," Lelouch replied. "Red alert! All ships, engage the Orions! Scramble the Black Knights!" He turned to the tactical map board. "CC, analysis."

The holographic form appeared near the 'pool table'. "I believe that Captains Takeo and Pinkerton would refer to this as a 'Class-S clusterfuck'. There are at least 80 Orion vessels, with 23 pirates. Then there is our task force, and we're missing the _Ptolemaeus_: the new VI isn't cooperating with the duotronic computers. She's out of action."

"That's not good…" Lelouch said, as he surveyed the situation. Kallen was launching first, as always, followed by N-Group… "Display the current trajectories of all ships in the area," he ordered.

The image showed that the Orions were closing in, almost like Hannibal at Cannae. The pirates were trying to run, but in trying to leave, they caused near-collisions, and one Breen ship was badly damaged. The _Yorktown_ was en route, as well as the _Raging Tempest_, while the _Liberator_ was moving to engage. The _Ptolemaeus_ was stuck above the space station, unmoving from the position she was towed to by the _Yorktown._

"Have N-Group and B-Group harass the Orions with Flanking and Hit-and-Run strikes," Lelouch ordered after contemplating the scenario. "R-Group will provide the _Ptolemaeus_ a little extra cover. Keep P-Group in close. We'll move next to the pirate ships closest to the enemy formation, keep the Orions from doing too much damage to them. Have the _Raging Tempest_ and _Liberator_ perform their own hit and run strikes. We need to disrupt their formations, break up whatever unit cohesion they have."

"Relaying orders. We have a shuttle inbound from the surface: IFF reads as _Ra-Horakhty_, attached to the..._Exeter _1672?"

"Wasn't the _Exeter_… Oh. It's from the _Ptolemaeus_. And the Orions aren't happy to see her." A full two flights of Orion interceptors were heading straight for the Class-1 shuttle. It appeared the Orions hated him, too.

"Send P-Group to cover the Shuttle," Lelouch ordered. "Fleet Killer or not, a Class-1 Shuttle is outmatched by those interceptors!"

* * *

"This day has sucked!" Disruptors shot past the_ Ra-horakhty_'s hull, and the people on board were screaming their lungs out. Not because of the danger: they were used to this.

Because Riza was at the controls. And Riza wasn't called the shuttle-destroyer for nothing. "Get us to the _Ptolemaeus_! The second we're on board, they'll stop trying to kill us!" Several bolts connected, causing the shuttle to spew plasma as she corkscrewed toward the closest ship, which happened to be the _Escalvantine_. "Lamperouge, we're coming in hot!"

"_Understood,_" Lelouch replied. "_We'll use our Tractor Beams to bring you in safely._"

"Negative! It'll take too long, and you can't use your tractors with your shields up! We're going to have to do this the hard way! Just get ready for a clean up on the hangar." Riza's golden hands guided them towards the carrier's rear section, and they entered the bay as the port nacelle snapped off, turning the ancient shuttle into a wrecking ball. A wrecking ball that was barely stopped by a tractor emitter inside the bay.

* * *

"They're on board!"

Lelouch sighed in relief. Starfleet Command wasn't going to have his head for getting their fleet killer killed. "Resume our course to the front!" he ordered. "We need to keep the Orions from doing too much damage to the other ships!"

A Gorn_ Draguas_ was destroyed by a mob of Orion frigates, and the _Liberator_ was attempting to save a _T'Varo_-Class warbird, which, as soon as the Orions were clear, warped away. "Sir, I picked up a Thalaron signature from that warbird; the triggers were on it!"

Lelouch swore. "Well, we'll need to look into that later - the Orions are the key threat now."

* * *

**USS _Yorktown_**

* * *

"Well, Ron would make a VERY welcome addition to this fight." 80 cruiser and frigate-class Orion ships, plus Hassan's dreadnought. Yes, the _Ptolemaeus_ would make a VERY welcome addition that could keep them from getting their asses kicked.

"Potter, attack pattern Takeo Beta!" Jaden ordered, as the bridge shook from a phaser impact. "Find us something to shoot, and light e'm up! I want torpedoes fired with a wide spread! Show them Starfleet Engineering at its finest!"

An Orion frigate suffered the 'honor' of being the first ship to get shot at by the _Yorktown_, shoving two torpedoes into it before it suffered a core breach, going up in a fireball. "One down, 70 to go." The _Liberator_ and _Raging Tempest_ hacked a pair of heavy cruisers apart, breaking the formations apart as the flagship arrived, not acting like Lelouch was in command. Rather, it seemed as though Riza was flying the damn thing.

"Oh boy…" Jordan muttered. "Sure hope Lelouch's ship can handle having Riza behind the controls… "

"I don't think she'll last long," Elisa said. "I'm already picking up microfractures in the hull. I think escorts just aren't good enough. Or the ship needs to be modified for her use." While not as durable as the _Excelsior_-Class, the _Armitage_ was durable enough to take all but the most extreme of Riza's piloting ability. And it showed, as the Orions were outflown, and some were forced to ram one another.

"Well, the Orion's aren't that difficult," Jaden said. "Press the attack, keep them from organizing and try to find Hassan's ship so we can shove a few photon torpedoes up his fat ass."

The Orions suffered the space version of the Battle of Cannae on Earth as the task force began moving, pressing the enemy in. For context, the battle involved 70000 Romans versus a comically tiny Carthaginian force. By the end of the battle, the field was given the title campo de sangue. In Italian, that meant 'field of blood'. And all of the blood was Roman.

Task Force 87 was Hannibal. The Orions were the Romans. The picture was clear as the crime lord's army was hacked apart, almost systematically.

An idea hit Jaden's head as he grinned and connected his PADD to the comm systems of the _Yorktown_. "Time for some music..." he said, as he hit play… and soon filling the comm was the sound of Ride of the Valkyries on repeat. "Danananana, danananana, danananana, Da, da nana!" He began waving his hands as if he were a conductor to the symphony as the _Yorktown_ charged forward, its phasers cutting the Orions to pieces, with explosions filling the view screen.

What was left of the force (if it could be CALLED that) tried to head for a large Warbarge-Class dreadnought, which was the Orion's counterpart to the Vo'quv-Class supercarrier. It also happened to be Hassan's flagship. And Hassan wasn't impressed with their handiwork. "Sir, we're being hailed by the Fires of Orion. It's Hassan's flagship. Looks like he wants to talk."

Jaden smirked slightly "Let them eat static." He said, "Oh Hassan… you know, there's a Klingon proverb that says 'revenge is a dish best served cold'... it is very cold… in _spaaace_."

The Fires or Orion fired on the Yorktown, attempting to destroy the Starfleet vessel before five ships decloaked. The Klingon and Romulan parts of the soon-to-be named Task Force Death were going to rip Hassan apart.

* * *

**RRW _Vengeance_**

* * *

The Republican warbird's disruptor cannons were working nonstop, just the way her commander liked it. "I want that barge nothing more than molten slag when we're done with it," Zaheena ordered, "I want this to send a message to everyone in the Orion Syndicate to never get within a few lightyears of this system ever again."

The Norexan-Class ship hacked off part of the warp drive assembly, crippling the Fires, and causing a warp core breach. It would be slow, but the ship was going to explode. Enough time for Hassan to try and escape, which he did, launching in a sublight interceptor fighter.

"Lock tractor beam on the fighter," The Kalenian said with a small smirk. "Then send a message to the Federation… let _them _decide what to do with this scumbag. I've heard Pinkerton can be very… _inventive_ against Syndicate leaders."

"Yes, Commander."

* * *

**USS _Evscalvantine_**

* * *

"They want us to decide?" Lelouch, standing at the tactical pool table, looked at the man who practically hijacked his flagship, and was sitting in the captain's chair. He had to admit, he lived up to the hype: HE couldn't've commanded the ship as well as Ron had and come out on top. "The choice isn't mine to make, Admiral. It's yours. Do we burn his ass or imprison him? I'm for the latter, seeing as the Syndicate attempted to sell my sister and half my senior staff into slavery."

The rear admiral let out a breath. "Put him on board the Yorktown. I'll let you talk to him. The Orions are scared of you."

Ron scoffed. "The Orions deified me. I'm their equivalent of the God of Death and misfortune."

Lelouch sighed. "I can almost see you as a hybrid of Hades and Loki," he muttered under his breath.

"Riza, Sonja, Ish, back to the Navigator! We've got a ship to make work again!"

The three officers followed their captain out of the bridge and into a turbolift, while Jeremiah raised an eyebrow. "'Navigator'?"

Their AI popped up to give them the answer. "The _Ptolemaeus_. She was named for Claudius Ptolemaeus, an Egyptian astrologer. A lot of your navigational work in the early years of space exploration are based on findings he made back 3000 years ago."

"_Huh. Interesting,_" Kallen said over the comms. "_Not something you hear about every day._"

While they mused over the oddities, Lelouch mused over how effective the ship was in combat under Ron's command. Lelouch was a strategic thinker: everything had to be planned in advance. Yet tactical-thinking Ron did most of the damage during that engagement. He would have to work on incorporating that into his plans.

* * *

**USS _Yorktown_**

* * *

The security teams stayed far back from Hassan, and not for security reasons. The Orion bastard STUNK. Desert planet or not, THAT was unacceptable! So they herded him using force fields. Sweet, smell-blocking force fields before they locked him up in the prison block.

"You can't keep me here forever!" Hassan shouted from his cage, "The Syndicate will have your heads!"

"Do we have to listen to his bullshit?" Elisa looked at one of the security officers before raising a finger to signify she had an idea. Just before she adjusted the force field to turn black and block all sound going in or out. "Thanks, Lieutenant."

"Not a problem," Elisa said. "Captain Pinkerton should be here soon to interrogate the bastard, once he's done with him… we'll, it's his call what we do with him afterwards."

"Isn't he deified by the Orions? Something like the god of death?"

"Death and misfortune, actually."

Both jumped at the sound of their superior officer from a century past, who was carrying a kind of whip. With spiked balls. "What is THAT thing?"

"A scourge. I don't like the Orion Syndicate very much, so I'm going to make him bleed."

"That's...not protocol."

Ron scoffed. "Think I care right now? One of my goals in life is to destroy the Orion Syndicate and help bring about something better. Now, if you excuse me, I have a fatass to whip into shape."

* * *

"_GAH! STOP! STOP IT!_"

"_That's right, squeal piggy! SQUEAL!_"

The captains of Task Force Death could only listen to the pain that Ron was putting Hassan through, with the sounds of screams and whipping and odd music playing in the background.

"How long has he been… doing this?"

Elisa shrugged, having no sympathy for Hassan. Then again, neither did anyone else in the known universe. "Half an hour. What's with all the hate? I mean, the Syndicate sucks and all-"

Takeshi handed Elisa a PADD, which she quickly read. "OH. They boarded his ship, took half his crew and tried to sell them. Including his sister."

And they knew THAT was a very, very, VERY bad thing to do.

"I don't like the Syndicate that much, either, but man, Ron's hate's on a whole other level," Takeshi remarked. "Not that I don't understand it, though."

Jessica winced. "I'm not even gonna say anything about that!" she remarked.

The forcefield lowered before Ron stepped out, Hassan's fat form huddled in a corner in the fetal position. "He sold the triggers to some guy named Obisek. Ring any bells?"

Zaheena filled in the blanks. "He's Reman. Used to be leader of the Crateris colony defense fleet before the Tal Shiar razed the place and abducted everyone."

"Any idea where to find him?" Jaden asked. "The sooner we get those triggers, the better before Tal Shiar uses them."

"No. He fled after Crateris was evacuated." Ron leaned on one of the consoles. "Well, there's a Tal Shiar listening post down there. At least, there was during the 2280s and 90s. Maybe we'll get more from the spies then we will from anything else."

"Right," Takeshi replied. "Well, now that that's settled… what do we do with Hassan?"

"As our combined hate for the asshole is as hot as a sun… I believe it is only fitting we shove him INTO one. I just don't want to waste a shuttle in doing so."

"Hmm..." Jaden thought for a moment, "Well… I've got a bit of an idea… a friend of mine in the academy once managed to replicate an entire shuttle craft once piece by piece… the parts were a bit inferior of course… but I don't think that will be a problem here if we're just gonna send it flying into a star."

"Let me guess: Kent University's experiment on duplicating an object. I think that happened to _Voyager_ once." Ron smirked. "Do it. I want that fat bastard screaming as he goes into a sun. And...make a false entry in the log, saying we sent him to Earth to stand trial, but...lost him due to..." The grin gained a Glasgow hint or two. "Heating problems."

"You got it," Jaden said, grinning. "Replicated shuttles can be… so unreliable after all."

* * *

Hassan RAN down the halls, heading for the only shuttle that seemed to be available after 'breaking out' of his cell. Illusions of control were playing in his mind, as the Starfleet personnel watched from the bridge. The fat Orion jumped into the seat as the clamshell doors opened and the shuttle launched. "Surprise, motherfucker!" Hassan jumped as the image of Jaden and his cohorts appeared on a monitor. "Didn't think you'd get away that easily, huh punk?"

"I'll be back!" Hassan shouted as he activated the warp drive of the shuttle. "I'll bring the whole syndicate down on your heads! Well get you, and everyone else in your godforsaken task force!"

"_I'd like to see you try, asshole._" Jaden said with a smirk. "_Have a nice day, Hassan… hope you like barbecue._"

The shuttle creaked as it turned toward the one thing in the system everyone from nimbus hated more then the Syndicate.

The fucking SUN. Hassan tried to make the shuttle turn, almost frantically, but the chances of that were nil: the controls were locked out as soon as he left the ship, and needed an Omega-level authorization to unfreeze. He screamed as the shuttle's impulse engines fired, sending it toward the sun at full impulse.

* * *

"One Orion fatass, well-done, coming up." The bridge crew on the Yorktown got the impression Ron was EXTREMELY pleased with himself. Jaden probably knew best: so was he.

"Well, one less scumbag to deal with," Jaden said, "Now to head planet-side and check out that Tal Shiar listening post, and try to figure out where the triggers are now."

"ONE problem. There's enough Gorn down in the canyon leading to the base to fill a small island. And, if I remember correctly, the only way in..." Ron pointed at a map on the monitor. "Is through that canyon, to unlock the damned doors to the base."

"Just another day at the office for us," Jaden said shrugging. "Beam down, kick ass, clear the Canyon, unlock the base, and get in."

"Tis life."

* * *

**Nimbus III - 'Gorn Canyon'**

* * *

The Gorn under the employ of the Tal Shiar patrolled the canyon, preventing any access to anyone brave enough (or stupid enough) to get close.

That was, at least, until death began raining from the sky.

It started out with a couple of mortar shells. Then it got worse. Much, MUCH worse, as more and more and MORE rained down on them, looking more like a carpet-bombing operation then anything else. And there were only three people to blame for this: Sonja Henderson, Cassandra Ptolemy, and Zaheena. They had set up over 40 mortar launchers, with enough shells to level half the canyon. And they WOULD.

"_Let's watch this city burn, from the skylights atop the world! Till there's nothing left of her, let's watch this city burn the world!_" Jaden grinned as the song played as several shuttles flew overhead, firing phasers in straifing runs on the Gorn defenses.

The gorn ran helter skelter, screaming in their language, which most of the away team couldn't understand. But the man in charge DID. "Christ, you'd think it was Shirou come back from the dead for the Gorn to scream like this." A mortar shell landed on a large Gorn, exploding and making him… not exist. "Cyclone and Isis, you're clear to land in the canyon. Get those damned doors unsealed so Jaden and the rest of us can breach the interior."

"_Understood,_" Linda replied, bringing the shuttle in. "_The door should be open momentarily._"

Ron wiped his brow before handing over a canteen to Jaden. "I hate desert planets. A few weather control devices and this place would be less arid."

"I agree," Jaden said as he took a drink. "Some place to call a planet of peace."

"But a group of assholes fucked that up. And we're dealing with them."

* * *

**Nimbus orbit**

* * *

A shimmer of light was seen before a _Norexan_-class warbird decloaked, briefly closed in on the task force, which was licking their wounds, and recloaked. And from the brief logs, Elisa IDed the ship as the IRW _Ja'pax_. According to Starfleet Intelligence, that warbird was assigned to the Tal Shiar. "Oh, great." She tapped the tactical console, opening up a comm link to Jaden. "Jaden, come in. We MIGHT have a bit of a problem."

"_Jaden here, what's going on up there?_" Jaden asked on the comm.

"A romulan warbird just came up close and recloaked," Elisa said. "It's Tal Shiar. I hope you do whatever you're doing down there fast. You know what the Tal Shiar are like when people snoop around their operations."

"_Shit… we'll speed it up as best we can,_" the captain said, "_We're almost finished with the Gorn down here, then we'll take care of the station._"

"Make it fast, Jaden!"

* * *

**Installation 18**

* * *

The Tal Shiar Commander of the base was not amused as a strike team forced their way into the base, taking down her ENTIRE security force. "For the love of all that is holy, WHO THE HELL ARE THOSE BASTARDS?!" The entrance to the command center deep within the base exploded, and out of the cloud came their worst nightmare.

The Tal Shiar's attempt to kill the bastard that plagued them in the 23rd Century, alongside Ishmael Takeo and his grandson, Jaden, and about a dozen OTHER people. "Surprise, bitch!"

"God I wish I had an M60 right about now!" Jaden shouted as he fired his TR116. "Rambo this place up!"

The Romulans fell to the combined weight of ancient and modern weapons fire, but there was something that WASN'T Romulan. It had the head of a sort of deformed mushroom in an old-style spacesuit. In the words of many later on, it was fucking UGLY.

And as Guinlong's disruptor proved, energy weapons proof. "You dishonorable-" A blue beam impacted the being, going through the shield, knocking the creature's left arm out of action. "You know..." The captain of the Ptolemaeus stepped forward, holding his phaser at the monster. "I thought I saw the last of you fuckers in 84. I appear to be wrong." He fired again, and again until it was on the ground, causing a sort of whimper as it laid there, paralyzed by the phaser beams.

"Elachi?" Jaden asked, recognizing the alien. "I've heard some rumors about Tal Shiar working with them… never actually _seen _one though..."

The creature tried to speak in its' language, but another phaser beam hitting the suit made it squeal. "Shut up!" Guinlong looked at Ron's weapon, almost in envy. "How?"

"They're powerful, but those personal shields of theirs are frequency-locked. 142.7 mW modulation, and they're as useful as a wet napkin." The Elachi groaned, before it tried to reach for its' wrist computer interface. Another blue beam impacted the arm and shorted it out. "Nice try, fuckface."

"What should we do with it?" Jaden asked, "It might know more about the Triggers, and what the Tal Shiar are gonna do with them."

"Give it to our romulan friends. These things are friends of the Tal Shiar, and this 'Republic' hates them."

A beep was heard before Ron pulled out his communicator. "Pinkerton."

"_Sir, we've got a large fleet of romulan warbirds moving in: all Tal shiar IFF. Good news is, they think we're dead in the water._"

Ron smirked. "And are we?"

"_Fuck no: the Ptolemaeus is online._"

"Lock onto us and prepare to beam us back to the ships." The eldest captain looked at Jaden. "So, ready to rape the Tal Shiar?"

Jaden grinned "I'm ready to rape _and _pillage." He said, tapping his commbadge. "_Yorktown,_ beam me up."

* * *

**IRW _Khaeal_ II**

* * *

Hakeev sat on the bridge of his warbird, named after the ship lost due to the actions of three VERY annoying Republic officers, and smiled before receiving a hail from the lead Constitution-Class ship in the federation task force. "This is Colonel Hakeev of the IRW Khaeal to the Federation starships off our bow. Identify yourselves, or be destroyed as criminals for interfering in the affairs of the Romulan Empire!"

"_Oh, so YOU'RE the asshole Zaheena keeps complaining about,_" a voice said, followed by a chuckle. "_Captain Jaden Takeo, USS _Yorktown_. And some 'empire' you Tal Shiar assholes have._"

"So, we have allies of that bitch who escaped. The other two must be nearby. And you are powerless against me, Takeo: I command a massive fleet, and you have nothing that can harm me."

"Uh, Colonel..."

"WHAT?!"

A trio of T'varos exploded as an Excelsior-Class ship flew past the D'Deridex. Hakeev's only eye widened as he saw the name and registry. USS Ptolemaeus. NCC-2185.

"_Oh! Yeah, forgot to mention…_" Jaden said as he chuckled darkly. "_Your worst fucking nightmare's here too… allow me to re-introduce you Tal-Shiar fucks… to the mother-fucking Windstorm in the flesh._"

Hakeev calmed himself. The Reaper was nothing to the might of the Empire now if he was still stubbornly commanding the Ptolemaeus. "HAKEEV!" Three romulan ships decloaked. And he knew all three. They CONSTANTLY got in his way. "That Kalenian bitch just won't die, will she? This fight no longer interests me. All ships, kill them."

* * *

**RRW _Vengeance_**

* * *

"FIRE EVERYTHING!"

The crew of the _Vengeance _did indeed fire everything the ship had, as it rained down a hailstorm of plasma and photon fire down upon the Tal'Shiar warbirds, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter.

The _Khepesh_ and _Liberator_ used their firepower as best they could, supporting the smaller ships and covering the three most dangerous ones: _Raging Tempest, Yorktown_ and _Ptolemaeus_. Matters were made worse when Nimbus' pirates entered the picture, tearing into the closest Tal Shiar warbird like a pack of wolves. "Hope you don't mind a little 'salvage operations', captains! We're givin' the Tal Shiar the boot!"

"Sounds like a fair enough deal to me," Jaden said with a smirk. "Keep the pressure on them! Force 'em out!"

What little the Tal Shiar fleet had left were quickly being hacked down, as a photonic shockwave from a torpedo fired by the Yorktown knocked a Norexan into the path of a T'varo, destroying both and scattering harmful debris all over the battlefield. Any ship that impacted it would suffer shield damage, and if they had no shields, they would be torn apart.

All in all, it became obvious to the Tal Shiar that they had _VASTLY _underestimated the defenses of the planet. It wasn't long before the few surviving ships bean to get cold feet as they started warping out of the system.

The last intercepted transmission was simple. "RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!" The last surviving D'Deridex warped out of the system, followed by one of the few T'varos and a badly damaged Norexan. "_HA! I fart in your general direction, you Tal Shiar nimrods! Your ancestors were fat and smelled of elderberries!_"

"_Wait, I thought it went 'Your father was a hamster, and your mother smelled of elderberries?'_" Jaden asked.

"_I don't care: it works, Jaden. Let's tally our kills and repair our damage before we head back to Earth._"

"_You got it,_" Jaden said with a sigh, "_Ah, today was a good day… kicked some Orion ass, along with some Tal Shiar on the side. Nice and easy._"

* * *

**Earth Spacedock**

* * *

The task force were all undergoing maintenance and resupply, and minor upgrades were being made to the Yorktown's warp nacelles. That was a sideshow compared to the meeting going on in Quinn's office. "You all did a great job at Nimbus, despite losing the triggers. That was unavoidable, and wiping out the Orion Syndicate's operations on the planet, as well as kicking the Tal Shiar out, have earned you all a great deal of respect there."

"We simply did what we would hope any other starfleet officer would have done in our shoes, Sir." Jaden said. "And we of course had some help from Commander Zaheena and Captain Quinlong."

"Melani D'ian isn't pleased, and was going to send someone to try and kill the lot of you… until she heard who was there with you." The smug look on Ron's face was priceless. "That being said, Captain Pinkerton, it's about time for this. You've been avoiding it."

"Goddamn it."

Jaden blinked in confusion, as Ishmael began snickering slightly. "What?" He asked.

"He's promoting him," Ishmael said. "Ron's been avoiding getting upped to Admiral since forever like the plague."

"Like hell I am!"

"Look, it's either you accept the promotion… or you get discharged! Can't stay at your rank with your track record forever, Ron."

The groan Ron emitted could've been mistaken for a ship breaking up. "Fine. But I'm not the only bastard that's climbing up the ladder!" The devil had nothing on Ron as he looked at Ishmael. "Oh, Ish..."

"You _do _realize technically, I was already an Admiral before I retired." Ishmael said with a small smirk, "I just let myself get demoted to Commander to serve under you again."

"You're just the first on my list."

"You have a list?"

"Yes, and most of those are on the Yorktown. And my chief engineer."

Quinn stopped laughing long enough to raise a point. "Speaking of which, there's a new officer I've noticed on your ship. A 'Cassandra Ptolemy'."

"Oh… that…" Jaden said, scratching the back of his head. "Well… Ron, she's under your command - you explain it."

"She is… WAS the Ptolemaeus VI."

Quinn's head met the desk. Hard. "Another Moriarty. Great." Ron looked at Jaden and Lelouch. "Moriarty? Wasn't he a Sherlock Holmes character?"

"Oh yeah… I remember that," Jaden said. "Well… basically, it's something that happened to the _Enterprise-D_. A Holodeck program run by Lieutenant Commander Data resulted inadvertantly for the representation of Moriarty to become self-aware, and eventually realizing he's a hologram. A while later, Moriarty managed to take control of the _Enterprise-D_ in order to make himself human and not a hologram… from what I heard, Captain Picard had Morty and another hologram tricked, thinking they escaped when they're really just running around in a very very accurate simulation of our galaxy."

"Sucks to be him. Situation was slightly different. It was a hardware upgrade that allowed her to gain sentience. Most of the damage we sustained was because of that, and we gave her an android body."

Quinn's face could've been made of stone for all the emotion he displayed. "And when did you get an android body?"

"Sir, you have Omega-level clearance," he said. "My records are open to you."

"In short - Sonja got an android from an alternate universe, and Nanites from another universe." Jordan abridged for him. "Put the two plus a newly sentient starship computer together, and Voila."

"…If it isn't the _Enterprise_, it's the _Defiant_. If it isn't the _Defiant_, it's _Voyager_. If it's not THEM, it's the _Ptolemaeus_! Your ship is CURSED."

"Don't blame the ship. She's blameless. Blame the crew. We're the magnets for trouble."

"We are destined to live in interesting times," Jaden said, shrugging. "What else can we say?"

* * *

Overlooking the interior of the starbase, watching as the _Yorktown_'s nacelles were being replaced was the newest member of the _Ptolemaeus_ crew. Cassie felt at home with the people she had worked with for the past 20 years, but outside of the job, she didn't have much. "Excuse me, Commander." She looked to her left, seeing a man with black hair, yellowish skin and gold eyes, wearing a command red Antares uniform with the rank of Captain on the lapel. "Am I disturbing you?"

"Ah, not at all." Cassie said smiling. "You must be the famous Commander Data, am I correct?"

"Yes, but I was promoted long ago." Data said. "Are you assigned to the _Yorktown_?"

Cassie shook her head. "The _Ptolemaeus_, 2185."

Data stood beside her, looking at her in confusion. "You are an android."

"Yup," Cassie said nodding. "Though technically speaking, I _was _the _Ptolemaeus_ a few days ago."

"Pardon?" Data asked.

"The _Ptolemaeus_ was trapped in time near a black hole," Cassie elaborated. "While for the crew, it was just a moment… but as you and I both know, computers experience time differently than Organics do. That, coupled with the upgrades Sonja was performing on me… I obtained sentience. Sonja then put my mind inside this Android body and well… here I am."

"Much like I would not experience the effects. I understand."

"Outside my work, I've got nothing." Cassie said, shaking her head. "The crew trusts me, but… I'm not sure if they'll just treat me like a tool then a person."

Data was silent for a moment, before he spoke. "I had served onboard the USS _Enterprise-D_ and the _Enterprise-E_," he said, "I had made many friends among the crew. Not once did I believe that I was treated as a Tool. Captain Picard, Commander Riker, even Commander La Forge, they were all my friends, and taught me much of what it was like to be human. They, and the rest of the crew, always treated me as another member of the crew. Even going so far as to defend my rights as a sentient being."

"If the crew of the USS _Ptolemaeus _is anything like the crew of the _Enterprise_, then I do not believe that will be a problem," he continued. "So long as you prove to be capable of... 'pulling your own weight' I believe it is called. You, if anything, have an advantage over me, since you are far more capable of utilizing your emotions than I did when I was first put into service."

Cassie chuckled. "Yeah, Sonja did a hell of a job in 2284."

"Oi! Cass!" Cassie and Data looked behind them to find Jaden and Ron, the latter wearing an updated uniform with a gold pipe on the flap and the captain's pin replaced by one belonging to a commodore, a modern day one-pip rear admiral. And not looking happy about it.

"Oh, Captain- oh, I mean _Commodore_ Pinkerton," Cassie said. "I guess they finally got you, didn't they?"

"Shut. Up. And to you, it's Captain. As far as you're concerned, Commander, I WASN'T promoted, Command be damned." Ron turned his attention to Data. "And who might you be? Haven't seen your race around the water cooler, if you get my meaning."

Data was about to speak, before Jaden did it for him. "Hoooo-ly crap," He said, "Y-your Data, right? _THE _Captain Data from the _Enterprise_, right?"

"That is correct," Data said nodding, looking at Ron. "I am Captain Data, I once served onboard the USS _Enterprise_-D and the USS _Enterprise-E_. It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Pinkerton. You as well Captain Takeo."

"So, you're the old E-C. Hope to see you back in the fight soon, Captain: we need the Big E back out there."

"I will not command the next _Enterprise_, sir," Data said. "But I know of your abilities. Perhaps you will take command of the next ship."

"FUCK that," Ron said, before pointing at Jaden. "Jaden's likelier than I am."

"Whoa-wait-what?" Jaden said in confusion, "Me?! I-Ron! I was a _Cadet_ just a few months ago!"

"A cadet that kicked the shit out of an unidentified ship, defended a colony from a Borg invasion and survived five minutes against ME." Ron said, counting them off on his fingers. "How many people have survived that long without running and lived?" Net answer? Zero. "I think Kirk himself would say 'put him in command'. And I KNEW the man."

"I… uhhh..." Jaden said, still at a loss for words. He knew Ron thought he was good… but good enough to command an _Enterprise_?

"I was on the List." Ron said. "And if I get my way, so will you. Come on, Cassie: we have a ship to make right. Captain Data, have a pleasant day. And we'll need to get Cassie a posting as well as crew quarters. Among OTHER personnel. GAH, still missing a CMO AND a science officer."

"Well, I can volunteer for either if you want me too," Cassie said shrugging. "I've still got all of the Starfleet info on both positions up in here." She pointed to her head.

"I only trust one person for each post. You know that." By that, only Rin and a Trill doctor could be REALLY trusted as chief science officer and chief medical officer. "But we need an ops officer. So, report to the quartermaster's office and get your uniform updated, Commander. And then we need to find you some hobbies: I'm not working you to death."

"Meh, I'll figure out something." Cassie said, glancing at Data. "Good day, Captain Data… I hope we see eachother again. It was… enlightening speaking with you."

"As do I, Commander." The three left, Ron being forced to drag a still-shocked Jaden. "A little truth and they just lock up."

"Well, not many people can just say 'you could command the _Enterprise_'." Ron shrugged. "It's in his blood. Ish could've commanded the E-B if he wanted to. He just didn't want to leave the _Ptolemaeus_."

"Damn right I didn't," Ishmael said. "And I won't be leaving anytime soon now."

* * *

**117Jorn: And there you have it! Yet another chapter down for the count!**

**Titanic X: And next one is gonna have more action in it! :) So get ready!**

**Ron the True Fan: Hype aside, (swats at Titanic) we're moving down the story line. And I don't think anyone wants to see a novelized version of those shitty DS9 missions. **

**Takeshi Yamato: Yeah, seriously - from the end of the revised Romulan arc to just before the 2800 arc, the DS9 Missions in STO have remained unchanged since practically launch. Cryptic needs to give those the same treatment as the original Romulan and original Borg arcs.**

**117Jorn: So until next time…**

**Everyone: Ja Ne!**


End file.
